


The Sidewinder Saga

by OptimusPhillip



Series: Sidewinder AU [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Lila Rossi Bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2021-01-02 09:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21159053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimusPhillip/pseuds/OptimusPhillip
Summary: This is a collection of stories originally posted on my DeviantArt starring my original character, Sidewinder; a foreign exchange student from America who is chosen to wield the Snake Miraculous as the third main hero. Together, the three of them fight against Hawk Moth to protect the people of Paris, even in the face of death itself.





	1. Sidewinder (Origins Part 1)

The room was quiet at first. The only light that could be seen were minuscule beams bleeding from between the curtains. Lying on the bed was a crumpled wad of blanket and pillow, roughly the size of a person. The clock on the dresser turned to 6:30, and started to wail loudly. The wad of blanket squirmed and fell off the bed, revealing a mildly pudgy fifteen year old boy wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. He pushed himself up, stumbled to the dresser, and turned off the alarm.  
Geez, he thought, how hard is it to adjust to a new time zone? Oh well, time to get ready for school. He stumbled to the upstairs bathroom and brushed his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror, and grabbed a hairbrush. He ran it through his messy brown hair, removing most of the tangles and cowlicks. He then grabbed a comb and made a part in the right side, taking care of the remaining tangles, but pulling out some hair in the process.  
“‘Bonjour,’” he said to his reflection, “'Je m’appelle Pat.’ Sounds good.”

Pat ambled down the stairs into the kitchen, wearing a pair of khaki slacks and a t-shirt bearing the image of a heart-shaped pipe bomb with the words “CDXX presents Modern Imbecile”. He grabbed a box of store-brand Chex, and sat down at the kitchen table across from his host father, Abram, who was reading the news on his tablet while sipping his coffee.  
“Morning, Pat.” he said, “Sleep well?”  
“No,” Pat replied as he poured his cereal, “still jet lagged.”  
“Hm. It’s been a few days, you should’ve adjusted by now.”  
“Well, hopefully I can get back on track soon.” Pat finished his bowl of cereal and put his dishes in the sink.  
“Don’t forget to wash those.” Reminded Abram.  
“Right.” Pat acknowledged before washing the dishes and putting them up to dry.  
“I’m off to school now.” Pat continued as he grabbed his backpack.  
“Okay, see you later.” Abram said as Pat walked out the door.

Pat stepped through the double doors that served as the entrance to Collége Françoise Dupont, and gasped in awe at the courtyard before him.  
_Definitely a step up from America._ Pat thought. To him, it felt like he was in an open-air school. The whole courtyard was set up like a gymnasium, with the classrooms off to the sides; a far cry from the maze of roofed hallways that made up American high schools. Pat looked at his printed schedule, and saw that he was in Miss Bustier’s class for homeroom.  
“Great. I don’t know where that is.” Pat looked around at the various classrooms, and noticed in the corner of his eye a blond boy, about his age, in a white jacket and blue jeans.  
“Excuse me?” Pat asked the boy.  
“Oh, hey.” he said.  
“Sorry to bother you, do you know where Miss Bustier’s room is?”  
“Oh, yeah. Follow me.”  
“No, you can just tell me and I’m sure I’ll be fine.”  
“It’s no trouble, really. I’m in her class, too.”  
“Oh, okay then.” The blond boy motioned for Pat to follow, and led him up the stairs on the side of the courtyard, and down the open corridor until they reached a door, with a window through which an orange wood room could be seen.  
“Thanks,” Pat said, “what’s your name?”  
“Adrien.” said the blond boy.  
“Well, I owe you big time, Adrien.” Pat entered the classroom, and looked around for an empty seat. Adrien took a seat next to a student wearing a blue shirt and headphones, leaving only one seat remaining, next to a pale, redheaded boy wearing an orange superhero tee under his gray jacket. Pat walked up to the boy, who was sketching something on a piece of paper concealed by his arm.  
“Hi,” Pat said as he set his bag down on the table, “mind if I sit here?” The redhead looked up, his eyes obscured by his bangs.  
“No.” he said before returning to his drawing. Pat sat down and grabbed his notebook from his bag. A tall, thin woman entered the room and walked to the chalkboard at the front of the room.  
“Good morning, everyone.” she said, “First of all, I’d like to welcome our new foreign exchange student from the United States, Pat McNeil.” Pat waved at the woman, whom he took to be Miss Bustier.  
“I’m Miss Bustier,” she continued, “I teach language arts here at Collége Françoise Dupont, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I hope you enjoy it here in Paris.”  
“Thanks.” Pat said.  
“Now, if you would please open your textbooks to page 35...” Miss Bustier started as all the students in the class reached for their books.

After class, Pat went to leave the classroom. While he walked, he passed a thin black-haired girl in a black jacket and pink pants.  
“Hi.” she said, waving at him.  
“Hey.” Pat replied. The girl leaned to reach her hand over the table.  
“I’m Marinette, nice to meet you.” Pat grabbed Marinette’s hand to shake it, but she lost her balance due to the leaning and fell onto the table. Pat bit his lip to stifle a chuckle.  
“Sorry,” Marinette said, “I’m a klutz.”  
“No worries. It was nice meeting you, Marinette.”  
“You too.” Pat walked out of the classroom.

Pat got the hang of navigating the school quickly, and found his way to Ms. Mendeleiev’s room very quickly when the time came to go to chemistry. Once again, the only empty seat was next to the red-haired boy, so Pat sat next to him.  
“Okay, class,” Ms. Mendeleiev growled, “Since we have a new student, I’ve decided to spend the beginning of class going over lab safety. Pat, welcome to the class. Please take notes.”  
“Thanks, Ms. Mendeleiev.” Pat responded.  
“The rest of you pay attention as well. Last lab, someone nearly burned their hair off.”  
“Don’t remind me!” Whined a blonde haired girl in the front row in a yellow jacket and white pants.  
“Now,” Ms. Mendeleiev continued, “first rule of lab safety is to never bring food or drink...” Ms. Mendeleiev started as Pat dug out his notebook. As he started to take notes, he noticed that the boy next to him was sketching in his notebook, his eyes nowhere near Ms. Mendeleiev. Pat pondered for a moment, and gave him a slight nudge to get his attention.  
“Listening?” Pat whispered as he wrote.  
“We go over this every lab.” he said, “It’s always the same.”  
“I don’t know, a refresher couldn’t hurt. Safety is important.”  
“I suppose you’re right.” The red-haired boy closed his sketchbook and focused on Ms. Mendeleiev.  
“If you have long hair,” Ms. Mendeleiev continued, “tie it back before doing any labs, especially when dealing with flammable substances. It may not sound like a huge deal, but trust me,” Ms. Mendeleiev looked back at the blonde girl, “it is.” Ms. Mendeleiev continued her lecture on safety for a few minutes before finally stopping.  
“Any questions?” Ms. Mendeleiev asked. No one responded. “Pat, any questions?”  
“No, Ms. Mendeleiev,” Pat replied, “I got it.”  
“Okay then. Class, open your books to page 52, we’re starting a new unit today on chemical bonds.” The class opened their books as Ms. Mendeleiev began to lecture yet again.

Once the lecture was over, Pat started to pack up his bags, but turned to the red-haired boy, who was about to pack up his sketchbook.  
“Hey, can I see your drawings?” Pat asked. The redhead looked at him for a moment.  
“No,” he said, “you wouldn’t want to see them.”  
“Oh, I’m sure they’re good. At the very least, better than anything I’ve ever drawn.” The boy sighed and handed Pat his sketchbook. Pat flipped through some of the pages, which featured strips of comics depicting a woman in a red jumpsuit with black spots fighting various other costumed characters.  
“Hey, I recognize her!” Pat said, “That’s the superhero who works around here... Ladybug, right?”  
“Yeah, that’s her.” The redhead admitted. Pat continued to flip through until he reached a page depicting a male superhero. Pat didn’t get a chance to take the comic in, however, before the red-haired boy grabbed the book back.  
“Sorry, I didn’t want you to see those. They were more... personal.”  
“Oh, sorry.” Pat said. “Those were good drawings.”  
“Thanks.”  
“No problem. Hey, I never got your name.”  
“Oh, I’m Nathaniel.”  
“Pat.” Pat reached out his hand, and Nathaniel shook it.

The next day, Pat came to school as before, but he noticed a girl he hadn’t seen before standing outside the classroom. She wore a red jacket over a dark gray romper, and had chestnut hair, tied by the sides of her face with orange bands. Pat went into the classroom and sat next to Nathaniel.  
“Who’s that girl?” Pat asked him, gesturing to the girl on the other side of the large window.  
“Oh, her?” Nathaniel said, “That’s Lila. Don’t bother with her.”  
“Why not?”  
“I don’t know much about her, but I hear she lies.”  
“Oh?”  
“I mean, I wouldn’t know myself. I’ve never spoken to her. But that’s what people tell me.”  
“It’s true.” A girl in pink across the aisle whispered, causing Pat to turn to her, “she told me she was friends with Prince Ali, but when I mentioned her in a letter to him, he said he didn’t know who I was talking about.”  
“Yeah,” the big, muscular student in front of Nathaniel said, “and she told me she was tight with Fleshmincer from Zombie Skull Crushers. She even promised backstage passes, but I had to give a scalper 150 euros just to see the show.”  
“Oof, that sucks.” Pat said.  
“Yeah. Thankfully, no one trusts her anymore.”  
“Hm.”  
“You guys talking about Lila?” Adrien said as he turned to look at Pat and the rest.  
“Yeah.” Pat said.  
“Well, just try not to be too hard on her. She may have lied, but that doesn’t make her a bad person.”  
“Yeah, I can see that. Oh, she’s coming.” Pat, Nathaniel and the rest all looked off in different directions as Lila walked into the room and took her seat. Everyone looked around awkwardly.  
“I know you were talking about me, you know.” Lila growled. The entire class let out a hurricane of “No, we wouldn’t”’s and “Me? No”’s and the like.  
“Save your breath.” Lila roared, “I’ve gotten used to people talking behind my back.” The entire classroom hushed just as Miss Bustier came through the door.

It was dark. The room was nearly empty. Only one figure stood in the center, the only other creatures being the small white moths that fluttered around him. The man in purple slammed his cane into the ground, causing a massive aperture to open in front of him, letting the sunlight through the massive window.  
“Yes, Lila. Stew. Let your anger broil until it bubbles up to the surface! Then, you will help me once again.” The man glanced at the top of his cane, where a single black butterfly remained, captive in its glass dome.

“Okay class. Quick roll call, then our lesson can begin. Adrien?” Adrien raised his hand, “Chloé?” The blonde girl in the front of the room raised her hand, “Ivan?” The bulky student in front of Nathaniel raised his hand, “Alya?” the girl in plaid next to Marinette raised her hand, “Juleka?” the girl the back row dressed in black and purple raised her hand, “Marinette?” Marinette raised her hand, “Mylène?” the short girl in the olive hoodie behind Chloé raised her hand, “Max?” the boy in green sitting in front of Juleka raised his hand, “Alix?” the thin, purple haired girl next to Mylène raised her hand, “Nathaniel?” Nathaniel raised his hand, “Nino?” the boy with the headphones next to Adrien raised his hand, “Rose?” the girl in pink raised her hand, “Kim?” the student next to Max raised his hand, “Pat?” Pat raised his hand, “Sabrina?” the orange haired girl next to Chloé raised her hand, “and Lila?” Lila raised her hand for a brief moment and put it down as soon as Miss Bustier noticed it. “Okay, everyone’s here. Now, open your textbooks to page 40.” Miss Bustier went to the chalkboard and started to write.

Pat walked out of the building to head home for lunch, but as he was on the stairs, Nathaniel stopped him.  
“Hey, Pat.” said Nathaniel.  
“Hey, Nathaniel.” Pat said, “What’s up?”  
“You wanna, like, I don’t know, come over to my house after school?”  
“Oh, sorry, I already had plans this afternoon. But I’d gladly come over some other time.”  
“No, it’s okay. You won’t be missing out on much. All I really do is just sit around and play video games. When I’m not drawing, I mean.”  
“Eh, I mostly do the same thing anyway. Except I write instead of draw. I can come over tomorrow if that would work.”  
“Okay.” Nathaniel continued off on his way, and Pat started home himself. However, Pat was distracted by a car horn. He turned and saw an old man in a red floral shirt, crossing the street in front of a car. The car was slowing down, but not quickly enough.  
“Look out!” Pat shouted at the man before running over and pushing him out of the way. The car, however, struck Pat and knocked him to the street before finally stopping. The driver stepped out of the car.  
“Oh my gosh, are you alright?” The driver shouted. Pat responded with a groan of pain, before speaking.  
“I... I think I’ll be fine.” Pat said.  
“I should call an ambulance.” The driver said before pulling out his phone.

It wasn’t long before an ambulance did arrive, and a medic came out.  
“Hey there,” the medic said, “what’s your name?”  
“Pat McNeil.” Pat said, a twinge of pain in his voice.  
“How old are you?”  
“Fifteen years.”  
“Well, Pat, I’m going to look you over, ask you some questions, make sure you’re doing alright.” The medic began to look around Pat’s body, feeling around for injuries.  
“Okay, how bad would you say the pain is?” the medic asked as he poked and prodded at Pat’s body.  
“Oh... about a 4 or 5.” Pat replied. The medic continued to look Pat over, stopping briefly to address the driver.  
“How fast was your car going?”  
“Um,” the driver said, “I wasn’t exactly watching the speedometer at the time, but I think it was... maybe 8 or 9 kilometers per hour, I had already hit the brake by that point.”  
“Okay, that seems to line up with what I’m seeing here.” the medic said before turning back to Pat, “You seem to have come out of this fairly well. I’d suggest you go home and rest, though, just in case. Where do you go to school?”  
“Collège Françoise Dupont.” Pat said.  
“Well, I’ll get in touch with your school, get you the rest of the day off. Need a lift home?”  
“I don’t know, I don’t want to scare my host parents, showing up in an ambulance. Think I’d be able to walk it?”  
“Try standing up.” the medic said. Pat got up onto his legs. He maintained his balance, but still winced in pain. The medic noticed this and went back into the ambulance. He came back out with a pair of forearm crutches.  
“Just in case.” the medic explained. Pat took the crutches and clipped them to his arms. He set the ends of the crutches on the pavement and picked up his right leg, causing the pain to cease.  
“This does feel a lot better.” Pat admitted, “And it won’t scare my host parents as much."  
“Well, just stay off that leg, get plenty of rest, and you should be fine in a few days. If not, go see a physician.”  
“Thanks.” Pat turned to hobble away, but was stopped on the sidewalk by the old man.  
“Forgive me, young man.” the old man said.  
“Oh, it’s no big deal.” Pat said, “The medic said I’ll be fine in a few days.”  
“Regardless, I feel I owe you. Here.” The old man handed Pat a card with an address, phone number, and the words “Master Fu’s Chinese Healing & Massage Shop” written in gold foil.  
“It’s nowhere near enough,” Master Fu said, “but I would be more than willing to give you a free session in thanks for your kindness.”  
“Oh, thanks.” Pat said as he put the card in his pocket, “At the very least, it’d probably help the, oof, the pain.”  
“Now go along home.”  
“I will, and thanks for the offer.” Pat continued along his way.

Pat reached his house, and tried to open the door, but found it was locked. Before he could get his key out of his backpack, however, his host mother, Candace, opened the door.  
“Are you alright, Pat?” Candace gasped.  
“No, I got hit by a car.” Pat admitted, “The medic said I’d be fine, though. These crutches are just a precaution.”  
“Well come in, quickly.” Pat entered the house and Candace shut the door.  
“The medic said he’d get in touch with the school, let them know what happened, and get me the rest of the day off.” Pat said.  
“Well, I’m going to call the school just to make sure.” Candace assured.  
“Okay. I’m going to go upstairs and lie down.” Pat went up the stairs and to his bedroom. He sat down on his bed and removed his crutches, then put his legs up on the bed. Candace poked her head into the room.  
“Pat, I called the school.” she said, “They said you were excused for the rest of the day.”  
“Okay.” Pat said.  
“I’m going to make you some lunch. Would you like to eat it up here?”  
“No, I’ll take it downstairs.”  
“Okay. You should call your parents, make sure they know you’re okay.”  
“You’re right.” Candace left Pat’s room, closing the door behind her. Pat took out his phone and made a call.  
“Hello?” A woman’s voice said over the phone.  
“Hey, Mom.” Pat said.  
“Hi, Pat. How’s it going over there?”  
“Overall, it’s going okay. Today hasn’t been great so far, though.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well, before I go any further, I want you to know that I’m fine.”  
“O...kay?”  
“I got hit by a car.”  
“What?! What happened?”  
“An old man was crossing the street, and a car was coming towards him. It was slowing down, but it didn’t stop soon enough. I pushed the old man out of the way, but I got hit.”  
“But you said you were alright, right?”  
“I’ll be fine, yeah. The medic told me to get some rest, but otherwise he said I’d be okay in a few days.”  
“Well, as long as you’re alright, I can’t be too upset. That was very brave of you.”  
“Thanks, Mom. Is Dad home?”  
“No.”  
“Okay. I just called to make sure you knew what happened, and that I was fine.”  
“Okay. Rest yourself, have some lunch, and keep me posted.”  
“I will.”  
“I need to let you go now. Love you.”  
“Love you too. Bye.”  
“Bye.” The line disconnected and Pat laid back down. He felt a hard edge in his pocket, and reached in to empty it. He found the card for Master Fu’s shop, and looked at it for a second.  
“Pat,” Candace shouted from downstairs, “lunch is ready.”  
“Okay, coming down.” Pat said as he stood up. He grabbed his crutches and went back down the stairs, where a plate of homemade macaroni and cheese and a tuna salad sandwich were waiting for him.  
“I made your favorite,” Candace explained, “figured you’d like to have something nice.”  
“Thanks, Candace.” Pat sat down and began to eat.  
“So, how did you get hit by a car exactly? Forget to look both ways, or...”  
“No, an old man was crossing the street, and I pushed him out of the way.”  
“Wow. Was he okay?”  
“He seemed to be fine, he didn’t get hit or even fall down.”  
“That’s good. And the driver?”  
“The driver was really good about it. He called an ambulance, and offered to help any way he could.”  
“Well, I guess things could’ve been worse.”  
“Oh, definitely.” Pat took the card out of his pocket.  
“Oh,” Pat continued, “the old man also gave me this.” He handed the card to Candace, “Offered me a free session, for saving his life.”  
“‘Ancient Chinese Healing and Massage’, thinking about taking it?”  
“Kind of. I feel like it’d be kind of rude to refuse it, and besides, it’s not like I couldn’t use something like that.”  
“Well, it’s your decision.” Pat pondered for a moment.  
“I think I’ll give him a call.”  
“Okay.”

Pat hobbled out of the metro station on his crutches, and quickly found a sign reading “Master Fu’s Ancient Chinese Healing and Massage Shop.” He moved to the front door and entered the building. Inside was Master Fu, who seemed to be muttering something to no one until he noticed Pat.  
“Ah, Monsieur Pat,” Master Fu said, “welcome. Come this way.” Pat hobbled in the direction Master Fu gestured.  
“Here,” Master Fu offered, “let me take your bag.”  
“Thanks, Master Fu.” Pat said as he removed his backpack and handed it to Master Fu. Master Fu set the bag down on a table, and slipped a small wooden box into it after Pat started off towards the massage tables again. He turned and followed Pat over.  
“Now,” Master Fu said, “shall we begin?”

Thirty minutes went by before Master Fu finally said something besides a Chinese mantra.  
“There we go,” Master Fu said, “how do you feel?”  
“I feel much better,” Pat replied, “thank you. This really helped.”  
“Would you like me to get your crutches?”  
“Ye-” Pat stopped when he realized he had stood up without feeling any pain in his leg. “Actually, I don’t think I need them anymore.”  
“Are you sure nothing is broken?”  
“Well, the medic said ‘just in case’, and my leg doesn’t seem to hurt anymore. So unless you can make broken bones not hurt at all...”  
“No. Not even I am that good.”  
“Well, in that case, I think I’m good.” Pat grabbed his bag off the table, and took the crutches in his hand.  
“Goodbye, Monsieur Pat.” Master Fu said.  
“Goodbye, Master Fu.” Pat responded before walking out the door. After he was gone, however, a small fairy-like creature with a turtle shell appeared beside Master Fu’s head.  
“Are you sure about this, Master Fu?” the creature said.  
“He is a very rare specimen, Wayzz. It’s a risk, but they need the help.”

Lila sat knees up on her bed, stewing in anger. She fumbled around her nightstand drawer and grabbed a fox tail medallion. She clutched the chain, glaring angrily at the pendant.  
“No one likes me.” Lila snarled, “Everyone hates me!” Lila’s eyes fell on a photo of Ladybug in a broken frame on her nightstand.  
“And it’s all her fault!” She swung the pendant at the picture, knocking it over and breaking the frame further. Lila’s growls gradually transformed into sobs as she buries her head in her knees.

The man in purple continued to watch over Paris from his lair, his focus entirely on Lila.  
“The time has come!” he shouted. He thrust his cane into the air, and the black butterfly inside phased through the glass dome.  
“Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize her once more!”

Pat took a seat in the lightly cushioned office chair behind his plain wood desk. He dug around in his backpack for his language arts book, but felt a small wooden object instead.  
_Huh,_ Pat thought, _I don’t remember putting anything like that in there._ Pat carefully removed the object, and looked confusedly at the mahogany octagon with a cherry blossom painted on top.  
_It’s some kind of... box._ Pat realized as he looked around for some mark that would identify it as one of his classmates’, but no such marking existed.  
_Should I... open it?_ Pat’s hands trembled as he placed them on the two halves of the clamshell. He gently snapped the box open, and was instantly blinded by a green light. When the light finally dimmed, he opened his eyes and saw what looked like a tiny, floating snake with stubby arms. It had a hood like a cobra, but a rattle on its tail, and it was sea green with diamonds down its back. Pat started in his chair, but composed himself when the creature didn’t attack him.  
“What the heck are you?” Pat gasped slowly.  
“I’m a kwami,” said the snake creature, “I grant powersss.”  
“Do you...have a name?” Pat asked as he moved in closer to the kwami.  
“I’ve always found names uselessss,” the creature hissed, “because eventually no one will be alive to remember it, but call me Rattle.” Rattle made a noise with his tail, as if to emphasize his name’s origin.  
“So... you grant powers?”  
“Yesss.”  
“How?” Rattle zipped up to the box in Pat’s hand, undulating as he did as if he were a real snake.  
“Thisss.” Rattle pointed at the box with his tail, drawing Pat’s gaze to the silver bracelet inside. “Your Miraculousss.”  
“Miraculous?” Pat asked, “I think I’ve heard that before somewhere.”  
“I’m sure you have.” Rattle hissed, “It’s the sssame way that Ladybug and Cat Noir get their powers.”  
“Wait, so you’re telling me... I can be a superhero like Ladybug and Cat Noir?” Pat nearly shouted.  
“Exssactly.”  
“So, what will I be able to do with this?”  
“You will gain the ability to heal the living, and to use thermal vision.”  
“Okay, sounds cool.”  
“And your greatest power... is the Ssserpent Séanccce.” Rattle hissed once again.  
“Ooh, what does that do?” Pat asked excitedly.  
“It gives you the power to channel a deceasssed hero. But you can only use this power once before changing back.”  
“Cool! Is that it?”  
“No, there is one more thing. When you transform, you will be given a magical rattle, that will serve as an extension of your being. It will allow you to ssslither through the city, and ssserve as any weapon you’ll need.”  
“Okay, sounds great.” Pat said, “But I should probably get my homework done before I try this out. Don’t wanna get sidetracked.” Pat turned back to his desk and grabbed his textbook.  
“You know, I thought humans would be more... interesting.” Rattle complained.

Lila continued to cry in her bed, still clutching the pendant. The black butterfly, the akuma, flew in through her window and landed on the pendant, its body phasing into it in a puff of purple smoke. Lila felt a familiar sensation as the cold energy flowed through her veins from her hand to her eyes and ears, and grinned at the sound of a familiar voice.  
“Volpina,” it said, “consider this a second chance. You will be able to win over the people of Paris once again, and finally show Ladybug who is the better hero. Only, of course, if you remember your end of the bargain.”  
“Next time you see me, Hawk Moth,” replied Lila, “I’ll be headlining TVi news as Ladybug’s replacement!” The purple smoke emanated from Lila’s pendant, and her gray romper and red jacket were replaced by a skintight orange and white costume, with a fox tail sash around her waist and a pair of fox ears in her hair.  
“Excellent... and I hope you don’t mind that I gave you a few little bonuses.”

The next day at school, Pat noticed something was different. Specifically, something about Lila seemed different. Instead of yesterday’s angry snarl, Lila wore on her face an all-too innocent smile, like a child about to knock down her neighbor’s tower. Pat, slightly suspicious, took his usual seat next to Nathaniel.  
“Hey, I heard about your accident yesterday.” Nathaniel said, “You alright?”  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pat reassured, “No serious injuries, I was just a little sore. Nothing a good massage couldn’t handle.”  
“Well, that’s good.” Nathaniel opened his sketchbook and began drawing, when suddenly Rattle popped out from Pat’s collar.  
“What’s thisss?” he whispered, prompting Pat to shove him back down.  
“Did you say something?” Nathaniel asked.  
“No, not really.” Pat replied.  
“What do you mean ‘not really’?”  
“Um... I meant that... I was... uh... thinking... out loud... and didn’t... uh... realize.”  
“Uh... okay then.” Nathaniel went back to his drawings.  
_Phew!_ Pat thought. _That was close. I’ll need to talk to Rattle later._ Pat got out his notebook as Miss Bustier entered the room.  
“Okay, class,” she said, “we finished this last chapter a day earlier than expected, so I’m going to give you today to study the material and get ready for the test tomorrow.” Miss Bustier sat at her desk and the class all opened their notebooks and textbooks.  
“Miss Bustier,” Lila said with a raised hand, “can I use the bathroom?”  
“Go ahead, Lila.” Miss Bustier said. Lila stood up and exited the classroom. Pat’s eye followed her down the stairs and into the locker room on the ground level.  
_Something seems off._ He thought to himself before returning to his notes. Soon, however, a loud metallic thud resonated through the school. Everyone in the classroom turned to see the door to the locker room ripped off of its hinges and lying on the basketball court. Volpina came out of the room, and played a song on her flute. A ball of orange energy formed at the end, and she flung it into the sky, creating a massive metal dome over the school. Everyone in the building ran out of the classroom in panic, bolting for the doors. However, when they went through they found nothing on the other side but the same inescapable dome. Most students ran back into the school, but Adrien stayed outside, ducked in the corner between the school and the front steps.  
“Plagg, we need to transform.” he said into his jacket. A black cat kwami flew out of his inside pocket.  
“But if we do that, we risk letting your identity slip.”  
“Not if we play our cards right. Plagg, claws out!” Adrien thrust his fist forward, presenting his silver ring to Plagg, who flew into the ring in a spiral. Adrien raised his hand as Plagg’s energy filled the ring, turning it black and creating a green paw print on the face. He slid his finger across his face, turning his eyes fully green and creating a cat-like mask. He ran his hands through his hair, causing two cat-ear clips to appear. A full jumpsuit appeared around his body, the excess belt forming a feline tail. A staff appeared on his lower back, and Adrien assumed a fighting stance, his transformation into Cat Noir complete.

Pat hunkered down under the table in the empty classroom, talking to Rattle.  
“What do we do?” Pat asked.  
“Transform, what else?” Rattle replied.  
“But what if people figure out who I am? You told me I had to keep this a secret. How would it look if, with no way in, the new snake hero just magically appeared inside the school the exact time Pat McNe-” Pat was interrupted by the sound of a loud voice:  
“GET TO COVER, HURRY!” it shouted. Pat looked out the window and saw the students racing to get under cover as pieces of the metal canopy fell to the ground, rusting as they went. Most students made it, but Nathaniel tripped and fell right beneath a piece of debris. Before he could be crushed, however, Cat Noir appeared and knocked the metal away. Or at least, that’s what his intent seemed to be. When he struck the metal, however, it disappeared into a puff of orange smoke.  
“Okay, I guess that problem is solved.” Pat muttered before grabbing his bag and running for the door, not realizing that Marinette was hiding under her table as well, talking to a red ladybug kwami.  
“Good, Cat Noir took care of that barrier.” Marinette whispered.  
“Now it’s time to do your thing, Marinette.” The kwami said.  
“Right. Tikki, spots on!” Marinette’s earrings turned red, and Tikki flew into them, causing five black spots to appear in a quincunx. Marinette ran her hands across her face as a red domino mask appears. She then snapped her arms out to the sides as they’re covered in red fabric, followed shortly by her midriff and legs. A yo-yo appeared on her hip as she did a little dance. She assumed a fighting stance, her transformation to Ladybug complete.

“Okay, Volpina,” Cat Noir said as the rest of the students fled the building, “enough tricks. Time to pull back the curtain.” Cat Noir ran towards Volpina, his staff held in front of him like a lance. Volpina held her flute up and blocked Cat’s staff.  
“You forget, the show isn’t over until the bug lady screams!” Volpina yelled as she worked her flute around Cat Noir’s arms and flung him into the air. As he started to fall back down, however, a red and black blur caught him, and Ladybug swung him down safely to ground level.  
“Thanks for the assist, m’lady.” Cat Noir said.  
“Eh, all part of the routine.” Ladybug assumed a fighting stance, but heard a beeping sound.  
“Cat Noir,” she said, “your ring!”  
“Huh?” Cat Noir looked at his ring: three of the toes have disappeared. “Oh, I need to get out of here!” Cat Noir ran for the nearest door. Pat watched from behind a bench, Rattle poking out from his collar again.  
“What are you waiting for?” Rattle whispered.  
“I’m... I’m kind of getting cold feet.” Pat admitted.  
“Go on, you can handle it.” Pat took a deep breath.  
“You’re right. Rattle, fangs out!” Rattle flew into Pat’s bracelet, undulating as he went, and energized it, turning it into a teal Ouroboros and causing five black diamonds to appear. Pat ran his hand down his face, causing his eyes to turn yellow, a mask to appear, and a pair of fangs and a forked tongue to appear in his mouth. He ran that same hand down his arm, creating a pale green sleeve with the same diamond pattern, and ran his left hand down his right arm with the same effect. He then ran both hands down his torso and legs, causing an entire costume to materialize around him, and his pudge to disappear. He ran his hands through his hair, moving his part from the side to the middle, as a rattle appeared on his hip. He assumed a snake kung fu stance, his transformation complete.

Ladybug stood in front of Volpina, yo-yo spinning in front of her.  
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Lila.” Ladybug said, “We can settle this like adults, there’s no need to go through this whole routine over and over.”  
“Oh, we’re not going through the same routine over and over.” Volpina said, “Last time I was pulling my punches. But this time, you won’t stop me so easily.” Volpina put her flute to her lips and played a few notes, but was distracted by a loud rattle, followed by a hissing sound. Both looked off in the direction of the sound, but saw absolutely nothing. Volpina put the flute to her lips again, but the rattling and hissing began again, this time from directly behind her. Volpina looked behind her, but again, saw nothing unusual.  
“Okay, where is that coming from?” Volpina shouted. Suddenly a loud BANG echoed through the school. Then another. And another. Both of their gazes jumped around, desperate to determine the cause of these strange sounds. Suddenly a string wrapped around Volpina’s arm, and yanked it, causing her to inadvertently throw her flute. The string unwrapped itself and retracted. Pat leaped over Volpina’s head and executed a three-point landing in front of Ladybug.

“And yet another new hero arrives.” Hawk Moth mused from behind his window, “My theory only grows more credible.”

“Well,” Volpina said, “looks like we got ourselves a newcomer.”  
“Don’t be fooled, though.” Pat said, “I could easily kick your butt.”  
“Bring it!”  
“With pleasure.” Pat stood up and held his rattle forward, “En garde!” Pat hit the trigger on his rattle, causing the string to shoot out a few feet and drop to the floor. Volpina and Ladybug looked at Pat with confusion.  
“Oops,” Pat said, “sorry, still getting the hang of it.” Pat hit the trigger again, retracting the string.  
“Focus.” Pat whispered to himself. He pressed the trigger again, causing it to extend into a saber. Pat charged towards Volpina, but she jumped out of the way, landing next to her flute. Pat swung his saber at her, but she picked her flute up and used it to block.  
“My turn.” Volpina said as she swung her flute at Pat. Pat ducked to avoid it, and swung his saber at her again, striking her in the side of the head, knocking her down and causing her to drop her flute. Volpina picks herself up and reaches for the flute, but Pat extends his rattle into a rope and wraps her hand in it. Volpina goes for it again with the other hand, but finds that one tied up as well. She turns and sees that Ladybug has wrapped it in her yo-yo string. Pat shot a surprised glance at Ladybug, who nodded towards him. It didn’t take long for Pat to realize what she meant, and they pulled Volpina down to the ground in unison. Pat and Ladybug both retracted their strings.  
“Nice work.” Ladybug said.  
“Thanks.” Pat said, blushing slightly.  
“What’s your name?”  
“My name? It’s...” Pat paused for a very brief moment, “Sidewinder. Yeah, Sssidewinder.” Volpina started to crawl towards her flute, but Sidewinder shot his rattle string out again, and grabbed the flute with it. He whipped the rattle back, causing the flute to snap towards him, and caught it with his free hand. He then took the flute in both hands, and slammed it down hard against his knee, snapping it in two. Volpina glared angrily at Sidewinder before running off.  
“That’s right,” Sidewinder shouted, “you’d better run!”  
“Sidewinder,” Ladybug said, “we needed to capture her akuma.”  
“Akuma?” Sidewinder paused, and proceeded to put his palm to his face, “The akuma! I forgot about that!” Suddenly Cat Noir ran back in through the door, panting and gasping for breath.  
“Sorry,” he said, “I had to go off and recharge. But now I’m back and...” Cat Noir’s vision darted around the room, “she’s gone, isn’t she?”  
“Yeah.” Sidewinder admitted, “I let her get away.”  
“Don’t sweat it.” Cat Noir reassured, “We should have no problem tracking her down and catching that akuma. Plus, without that flute you have there, she’s powerless.”  
“Well,” Ladybug said, “I suppose you’re right, Cat. Worse mistakes have been made. And for what it’s worth, you were pretty awesome out there.”  
“Thanks.” Sidewinder said looked down at the flute halves in his hands, “I should probably find a safe place for this, though.”  
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Cat Noir said.  
“Well, it was a pleasure fighting with you two.” Sidewinder said as he shot his rattle string out like a grappling hook, striking the edge of the open ceiling. “Sssee you later.” Sidewinder hit the trigger, causing the string to retract, pulling him to the roof, where he proceeded to grapple away again.  
“I wish he’d stop that hissing thing.” Ladybug griped, “It’s kind of annoying.”  
“Hey, I thought it was kind of cool.” Cat Noir retorted.  
“Well, I wouldn’t count on you to judge what’s ‘cool’.” Ladybug teased before swinging away on her yo-yo.


	2. Volpina (Origins Part 2)

Sidewinder grappled from building to building, until he finally made it to the alleyway behind Abram and Candace’s house.  
“Rattle, fangs in.” he said, causing him to transform back. He slid the flute halves into his backpack, and snuck around to the front door. He fumbled around his bag for his keys for a bit, when Candace opened the door for him.  
“Oh, Pat!” she said, “Thank goodness you’re safe.” Candace gave Pat a hug and led him inside.  
“So you heard about what happened at school, I take it?” Pat said.  
“Yes, I saw it on the news. It was terrifying.”  
“Well, it’s not like this the first time something like that happened there.”  
“It’s the first time something like that happened while my little boy was there.” Upon hearing this, Pat gave Candace another hug.  
“Has Mom heard about it yet?” Pat asked.  
“I was just on the phone with her.” Candace explained, “I made sure she knew you were safe before I hung up to let you in.”  
“Good. I’m gonna go upstairs.”  
“Okay.” Pat raced up the stairs to his bedroom, where he closed and locked the door. He took off his backpack and felt around for the broken flute. Rattle flew out of Pat’s collar.  
“What are you going to do with thisss?” Rattle asked.  
“I’m gonna lock this away someplace safe, like I told Ladybug.” Pat explained as he dug a key out of his desk drawer. He opened up his closet and pulled out a chest. Pat put the key into the hole on the front of the chest and turned it, causing the lid to pop up slightly. Pat opened the chest and threw the flute in before quickly slamming it shut.  
“Ssso, what’s the chessst for?” Rattle asked.  
“It’s where I keep all the stuff I don’t want people finding.” Pat explained.  
“Like?”  
“That doesn’t concern you.” Pat quickly stated before relocking the chest and slamming his closet door.  
“Now homework?” Rattle moaned.  
“Unless you have a problem with that.”  
“Your body wassstes away every sssecond, and you wassste those ssseconds away themselves memorizing pointlesssss factsss instead of actually using these powers I’ve given you? Humans are ssso... boring!”  
“Less than ten minutes ago I was fighting villains alongside the world’s greatest superheroes. How is that boring?” Rattle struggled to come up with a response, but all that came out were confused hisses. Pat reached into his backpack and took out his math textbook and a single-serve bag of barbecue potato chips.  
“Sssorry.” Rattle said, “It’s just that I get bored easily. Plus, I’m a sssmidge hungry.”  
“I understand.” Pat said as he opened the bag of chips. “Want one?”  
“Sssure, I’ll try it.” Rattle flew into the bag and grabbed a potato chip. He took a bite of it, and promptly spit it out. “Thin potato ssslices boiled in animal fat and dusssted with what tastes like tomato passste and onionsss? Get that out of my sssight!” Rattle threw the chip onto the desk. Pat looked at the chip with disgust. “Go ahead, eat it. It’s totally sssafe.” Pat took the potato chip and ate it.  
“Well, what do you like?” Pat asked as he started solving equations.  
“Well, it’sss been forever sinssse I last visited the human world, but I remember enjoying pomegranate ssseeds.”  
“Okay, I can arrange that. But I have to ask, why do kwamis need to eat?”  
“Do you think my power just is? I need to get energy from ssssomewhere.”  
“Okay, makes sense.” Pat took a potato chip and ate it as he finished the fifth equation, “How about once I finish my math homework, I go down to the market and get a couple pomegranates for you?”  
“Sssounds good.”  
“Good.” Pat went back to his homework.

Pat walked through the streets of Paris to a nearby produce market. He went inside and saw fruits and vegetables stacked high in their various bins and shelves. Pat browsed around for a brief moment until he found the pomegranates. He picked two up from the top of the pile and carried them over to the front desk.  
“Will that be all for today?” The salesclerk asked.  
“Yeah,” Pat said, “just wanted to pick up a healthy snack or two.”  
“No worries. Let me just ring you up here.” The salesclerk punched some numbers on the cash register. “That’ll be €3.24.” Pat handed the salesclerk a €5 note, when suddenly he saw something in the corner of his eye. He looked off to the side to see Lila, in her regular clothes, walking past the large front window.  
_Lila?_ Pat thought, _That’s odd. I thought she was still akumatized._  
“Sir,” the salesclerk said, snapping Pat back to reality, “your change?” Pat looked at the salesclerk and saw him holding coins of various value.  
“Oh, sorry.” Pat said, “Got a little... lost in thought.” Pat took the change and his pomegranates.  
“Thank you, come again.” The salesclerk said as Pat walked towards the door, waving goodbye as he went. Pat looked around and saw Lila, still walking along with the small crowd of pedestrians. He looked a little more closely and saw a black butterfly wing poking out of her jacket collar.  
_The akuma!_ Pat thought as he ducked into a nearby alleyway. Rattle peeked his head out of Pat’s shirt collar.  
“What is it?” Rattle asked.  
“Lila’s akuma.” Pat said, “I saw it poking out of her jacket.”  
“What? How is that possible?”  
“I don’t know. I guess it’s working like a kwami or something.”  
“Okay, what do we do now?”  
“Well first,” Pat said as he took out a pocket knife and scored one of the pomegranates around the equator, “you’re going to eat some seeds from this pomegranate and recharge.” Pat twisted the pomegranate halves, ripping the fruit in half and exposing the red seeds, “Then we’re going to transform, contact Ladybug, and do whatever we need to do to take care of that akuma.”  
“Sssounds interesssting!” Rattle hissed as he raced to the open pomegranate half, lifting it with inhuman strength and carrying it to the ground, where he proceeded to pull seeds out one at a time and eat them whole.

Marinette sat at her desk, tapping a page of a notebook with her pen.  
“Ugh,” she said, “math is so difficult!” Marinette put her head to her desk and put her hands on top of it. Suddenly Tikki flew up to her.  
“I’d hate to interrupt your studies, Marinette,” she said, “but Sidewinder is trying to reach you.”  
“What?” Marinette said, “Why?”  
“I don’t know, but you should probably answer it.”  
“You’re right, Tikki. Spots on!” Tikki flew into Marinette’s earrings and she transformed into Ladybug. Sure enough, Ladybug’s yo-yo started beeping, and when she pulled it out, she had an incoming call from Sidewinder.  
_I should probably go outside to answer this._ Ladybug thought, _Can’t be seen as Ladybug in this room._ Ladybug peeked through the glass door to her balcony, and determined that no one would see her coming out. She climbed through the door and, after doing another spot check, leapt to another rooftop, where she answered the call.  
“What is it?” Ladybug asked Sidewinder over the video call.  
“I think I found Volpina.” Sidewinder replied.  
“Where?”  
“Rue de Bretagne, not far from the Square du Temple. She seems to have found some way to transform back into her regular form, like her akuma is a kwami.”  
“Okay, Sidewinder, sit tight. I’m on my way.”  
“Copy that. Over and out.” The call ended.  
“Square du Temple,” Ladybug mused, “that’s all the way in the third arrondissement. Gonna take me a while to get there.” Ladybug threw her yo-yo and swung off.

Sidewinder continued to watch Lila, squatting on a rooftop near the Temple. She approached the edge of his field of vision. Sidewinder got up and began to pursue her.  
_Not letting you get away this time._ He thought. Suddenly Lila’s head turned towards him, prompting him to duck behind a ventilation shaft. He peeked around the corner and saw that Lila was no longer looking his way, so he continued to pursue her. She turned to look at him again, however, and this time all he had to hide behind was the raised edge of the rooftop. He ducked down as far as he could, and prayed that Lila couldn’t see him. But she did. Not only did the lip only conceal so much, but she had noticed him before he had even ducked down. Lila ducked away into an alley.  
“Looks like it’s time for a little payback.” Lila muttered, “Akuma, let’s pounce!” Right on cue, the akuma in Lila’s jacket flew out and entered her fox pendant, transforming her into Volpina once again.

Sidewinder peeked out over the lip. Lila wasn’t looking at him anymore. He breathed a sigh of relief, before realizing he couldn’t see Lila at all.  
_Crud,_ he thought, _she got away again._ Sidewinder grabbed his rattle and pressed the trigger, extending the gap between the bottom two segments to reveal a touch screen. Before he had a chance to do anything, however, he was tackled to the ground by Volpina.  
“Where’s my flute?” Volpina demanded.  
“I threw it away.” Sidewinder fibbed. Volpina growled and picked Sidewinder up by the neck.  
“I’m gonna ask you one more time.” Volpina said.  
“And I’m gonna give you the same answer one more time.” Sidewinder retorted. Volpina grimaced at Sidewinder before throwing him off the edge of the building. Sidewinder fumbled for his rattle, but found that it was not on his belt or in his hands.  
_Uh-oh, must’ve dropped it._ Sidewinder thought, _This is gonna suck._ Sidewinder landed in a crowd of pedestrians. He quickly got up, and turned to the crowd.  
“Is everyone alright?” Sidewinder asked loudly.  
“No.” one voice said. Sidewinder turned to see a male pedestrian, probably in his mid-twenties, lying on the ground not far from where he landed, clutching his left leg.  
“I’m sorry, sir.” Sidewinder said, “Here, let me help you.” Sidewinder looked around and saw his rattle lying on the ground not far from the scene. He turned his head towards a bystander.  
“Could you please get that rattle for me?” Sidewinder requested, pointing to the rattle. The bystander quickly ran to grab it and brought it back to Sidewinder. “Thanks.” Sidewinder turned back to the injured man. He waved the rattle over the man’s leg, and soon the man stopped clutching it: the pain had vanished completely.  
“Anyone else hurt?” Sidewinder asked. No one responded but the man, who had begun to stand up.  
“Thank you.” he said.  
“No problem.” Sidewinder said, “Now I have some unfinished business to attend to.” Sidewinder shot his rattle string upwards, and zipped all the way up to the top of the building. However, Volpina wasn’t there.  
“She got away again?” Sidewinder cried, when the familiar sound of a string reeling in caught his ear. He turned and saw Ladybug’s yo-yo string wrapped around a steel pipe, the string retracting quickly.  
_Great,_ Sidewinder thought, _now I have to explain this to her._ Sure enough, Ladybug landed right next to Sidewinder, and started looking down into the street.  
“Where is she?” Ladybug asked.  
“She’s... she’s gone. Again.” Sidewinder admitted.  
“You let her get away again?”  
“I didn’t want to lose sight of her again, so I started following her, but then she noticed me, then she threw me into some pedestrians, then I had to heal someone who got hurt, and I guess she got away while I was distracted.” Ladybug took a deep breath, clearly trying to quell her agitation.  
“What did she want?” Ladybug asked.  
“Her flute back.”  
“Okay, where is it?”  
“I put it in...” Sidewinder paused, realizing he was about to give away his identity, “the care of... a friend.”  
“A friend?”  
“Yeah. A friend.”  
“Okay, where does this friend live?”  
“31 Rue Thibaudeau.”  
“Okay. I’m gonna go get that flute.” Ladybug ran to the edge of the rooftop and threw her yo-yo into the distance.  
“Why?” Sidewinder asked.  
“Trust me.” Ladybug assured as she kicked herself off the edge.  
“Okay, at least she has things under control.” Sidewinder assured himself. Suddenly, however, his eyes widened and he took a sharp breath, as if he had just been hit with a sack of bricks.  
“I gotta get home. Ladybug’s expecting me!” Sidewinder dove off the rooftop and grappled through the city.

Sidewinder grappled to the back of Abram and Candace’s house and snuck in through the window.  
“Rattle, fangs in.” Sidewinder transformed back into his civilian form and sat down at his desk just as Ladybug arrived at his window. Pat got up and opened the window, allowing Ladybug to enter his room.  
“Hello,” Pat said, his voice trembling, “My name is Pat.”  
“I’m Ladybug.” Ladybug replied, “Though you probably already knew that.”  
“Uh... yeah.”  
“No need to be nervous. I just came for what Sidewinder gave you.”  
“On it.” Pat grabbed the key from his desk drawer and went to his closet.  
“How many keys do you need?” Ladybug asked upon seeing the large number of keys in Pat’s drawer.  
“Most of those are fake,” Pat admitted, “clever trick, huh?”  
“Clever. A little overkill if you ask me.”  
“Well, let’s just say there are some things I really don’t want people finding.” Pat said as he came out of the closet with the broken flute. “Guess it paid off here.”  
“Yeah, you’re right.” Ladybug went to the window and threw her yo-yo out. “Oh, and by the way, you forgot to close the chest.” Pat turned to look in his closet. The chest was indeed, wide open, though from his vantage point nothing was visible inside.  
“Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything.” Ladybug confirmed before swinging off. Pat watched her swing until she was out of view. Rattle popped out of his shirt collar.  
“Pat, I’m hungry.” Rattle said, “That healing took a lot out of me.”  
“Okay, eat your pomegranate seeds.” Pat said as he put his grocery bag containing the sliced pomegranate on his desk, “but be quick about it. Ladybug will be waiting.” Rattle phased through the bag and flew out the top with three seeds in his hands. He threw all three into the air and caught them all in his mouth, swallowing them whole.  
“Mmm, deliciousss.” Rattle hissed.  
“Well, if you’re all recharged,” Pat started, “Rattle, fangs out!” Rattle flew into Pat’s bracelet and he transformed into Sidewinder. He grappled to the roof of the next building over, and received a video call from Ladybug.  
“Sidewinder,” she said, “I got the flute.”  
“Great,” Sidewinder said, “now what?”  
“Meet me on the Arc de Triomphe tonight at 11, I have a plan.”  
“Okay.”

Ladybug waited on top of the Arc de Triomphe, the full moon illuminating it bright as day.  
_I don’t think I’ve ever seen Paris from this angle before._ Ladybug thought, _It’s actually kind of relaxing._ Then the sound of Sidewinder’s grappling hook reached her ears, followed by him landing next to her.  
“So, what’s the plan?” Sidewinder asked.  
“Let’s wait until Cat Noir arrives.” Ladybug said, “I’d rather not explain it twice.”  
“Who’s waiting?” said Cat Noir from somewhere out of sight.  
“Cat, where are you?” Ladybug groaned.  
“Come find me.”  
“If you’re on the underside of the Arc,” Sidewinder said, “we can’t see down there.”  
“Seriously? So I planned this awesome entrance for nothing?!” Cat Noir whined.  
“Cat, stop fooling around and get up here.” Ladybug ordered.  
“Okay, okay.” Cat Noir jumped from underneath the Arc to right in front of Ladybug.  
“So, what’s the plan, Bugaboo?” Cat Noir asked.  
“We use the flute to lure Volpina in. Then, once her guard is down, we take her akuma.”  
“Smart idea, Ladybug.” Sidewinder said.  
“That’s my girl.” Cat Noir teased, causing Ladybug to facepalm.  
“So how do we get her attention?” Sidewinder asked.  
“Probably by standing on top of the Arc de Triomphe in colorful costumes.” Ladybug snarked.  
“Well played.” Sidewinder conceded, before Ladybug shushed him.  
“I think she’s coming.” Ladybug whispered. Sure enough, Volpina appeared on a roof two buildings over. She leaped from roof to roof until she landed on the Arc.  
“You. Have. My. Flute?” Volpina said.  
“Yeah, we do.” Cat Noir said.  
“Does something seem off about her or is it just me?” Sidewinder whispered to Ladybug.  
“What do you mean?” asked Ladybug.  
“I can’t have been the only one to notice how stilted her delivery of that question was.”  
“You sound like a cartoon critic, Sidewinder.” Ladybug teased before turning to address Volpina.  
“I have your flute right here, Volpina.” she said.  
“Hand it. Over. Then.” Volpina said, thrusting her hand forward robotically. Ladybug calmly approached her, but Sidewinder glared at Volpina suspiciously.  
_Something’s off about her._ he thought, _The way she speaks, the way she moves... it’s not right. But how can I prove it?_ Sidewinder closed his eyes, causing the slits under the eyeholes of his mask to open and activate his thermal vision. He looked and saw Ladybug and Cat Noir, but not Volpina.  
_No body heat, either._ Sidewinder thought, _Something’s definitely wrong._ Sidewinder turned his head, still holding his eyes shut, and saw the familiar shape of Volpina behind Ladybug.  
“Ladybug, behind you!” Sidewinder screamed as Ladybug grabbed for the akuma, destroying the illusion and falling over, giving Volpina the chance to grab her flute back. Everyone turned around to see Volpina dropping a cheap, mundane flute.  
“You thought all my illusion power was in that flute?” Volpina chuckled, “I still had a little bit left in me. All I needed was any old instrument to create something passable. But now, I don’t have to settle.” Volpina thrust the two broken ends together, and they magically began to fuse. Sidewinder held his rattle forward, ready to shoot it at the flute, but he was milliseconds too late on the trigger and she swung her flute at him, striking him in the side of the head, knocking him down and causing him to drop his rattle.  
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Volpina said, “it’s time to blow this joint.” Volpina played her flute, and threw a ball of orange energy onto the ground, creating a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, Volpina was gone.  
“Fan out.” Ladybug ordered. “Find her.”  
“Right.” Sidewinder said before grappling away.  
“Don’t sweat it, m’lady.” Cat Noir spun his staff like a helicopter rotor and jumped off the Arc. Ladybug threw her yo-yo and swung off.

Cat Noir raced from rooftop to rooftop, leaping and flipping as he went.  
_I never get tired of this!_ Cat Noir thought as he jumped right over the busy street. He saw an orange blur in the distance. _There she is!_ Cat Noir threw his staff at the blur, not directly hitting, but stopping Volpina in her tracks. Cat Noir caught up to her, and pressed a button on his staff, causing a touchscreen to slide out.  
“You’re gonna call in backup?” Volpina asked.  
“So what if I am?” Cat retorted.  
“Well, it’s just that I think Ladybug would be more impressed if you were to take me down on your own.”  
“Yeah, right. You think I’m gonna fall for that?” Cat Noir pressed the button on the screen to call Sidewinder.  
“Cat,” Sidewinder asked, “did you find Volpina?”  
“Yeah, just call in Sidewinder.” Volpina snarked, “He’s totally trustworthy.” Cat Noir glanced at Volpina with confusion.  
“Cat Noir?” Sidewinder asked again.  
“Why do you think he was so quick to jump onto the idea of fanning out?” Volpina asked, “He’s totally trying to steal Ladybug from you.” Cat Noir put his hand over the mic.  
“Yeah, right.” Cat said, “He’s on our side, and you know that.”  
“You sure? How many times have you met him? Once? Can you really trust him?” Cat Noir paused.  
“Cat, can you read me?” Sidewinder asked, noticeably worried.  
“Sorry, I thought I saw her,” Cat Noir lied, “turned out to be something else.”  
“Well be careful next time. I don’t want anymore false alarms.” The call ended.  
“Well then,” Cat Noir said, “let’s do this, one on one!” Cat Noir charged at Volpina, staff ready. Volpina, however, jumped to the next rooftop and ran off.  
“Get back here!” Cat Noir shouted as he gave chase.

Ladybug swung through the city, wind sweeping through her hair as the skyline flew past her. She landed on a rooftop, and found herself face to face with Volpina, who was playing her flute.  
“Don’t bother, Volpina,” Ladybug said, “your illusions can’t fool me.”  
“True,” Lila said, “but they can fool your reflexes.” Lila slammed the flute down, causing a missile to fire at Ladybug. Ladybug dodged the missile, ducking down to the ground and covering her ears.  
_Wait,_ she thought, _that missile couldn't have been real._ Ladybug stood back up, only to see Volpina running away.  
“Here we go again.” Ladybug sighed as she gave chase.

Sidewinder grappled from building to building, stopping each time to survey the area.  
_Come on, come on,_ he thought, _where is she?_ Sidewinder looked around and saw nothing, so he grappled to another building. He looked around again, and saw Volpina standing on a rooftop a couple blocks down.  
_Jackpot._ Sidewinder grappled closer to that building, until he was close enough to see Volpina in great detail. He closed his eyes and activated his thermal vision: Volpina didn’t have any body heat, as before.  
_Another fake._ He thought. He grabbed his rattle and pressed the trigger, extending it into its phone form. He tapped Ladybug’s icon, and the phone began to ring. However, after a couple minutes, it stopped. _No answer? Why didn’t she answer?_ Suddenly Sidewinder heard Volpina’s voice, but not from the illusion. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Volpina on a streetside television screen.  
“Hello, Paris.” she said, “Have I got something for you.” Volpina backed away from the camera to reveal Ladybug and Cat Noir tied up in the studio. “That’s right, Ladybug and Cat Noir are my prisoners. And at midnight tonight, I’ll be revealing their identities live on air. So stay tuned.” Sidewinder recoiled, and promptly turned back to his rattle screen.  
_I need to trace that transmission!_ Sidewinder thought as he tapped buttons on the screen, eventually bringing up a map with a blip to the northeast. Sidewinder looked in that direction, and saw a massive skyscraper, lined top to bottom with windows. Sidewinder looked down at his screen again: 23:45.  
_Not much time._ Sidewinder thought before ruffling his brow and shooting his rattle string into a wall, pulling himself up and towards his destination.

23:55 in the TVi Studio. Volpina sat back, patiently watching the clock tick.  
“Five more minutes,” she mused, “this is gonna be so much fun.”

A loud BANG echoed through an outer room of the studio as Sidewinder’s rattle grappled to the window frame. He kicked the window open and jumped through. He looked at the clock: 23:57.  
_Gotta move faster!_ Sidewinder ran through a door and found himself in a massive stairwell. He clicked the button on his rattle, revealing the screen, which showed the inside diagram of the building. He tapped the screen until a blip appeared on the top floor.  
“Great,” Sidewinder said, “I have to go up all these stairs?” Sidewinder groaned before starting up the stairs. Flight by flight, breath by breath, second by second, Sidewinder ran as fast as he could up the stairs. He checked his rattle screen again: 23:58.  
_I’m running out of time!_ He thought, racing up the stairs even faster.

Volpina glanced at the clock again: 23:59:23.  
“Showtime.” Volpina bragged as she stood up and approached the terminal behind the camera. Thirty seconds. Volpina pressed some keys, removing the waiting title. Twenty-three seconds. Volpina walked in front of the camera.  
“Okay, Paris,” she said, “time for you to see that your heroes may not be the nice, wholesome, family role models you thought they were.” Ten seconds. Volpina approached the bound duo, reaching for Cat Noir’s mask. Five seconds. The doors burst open and Sidewinder ran through. Time’s up. Volpina ripped Cat Noir’s mask off, revealing the face of Adrien Agreste.  
“You’re too late, Sidewinder.” Volpina boasted, “Everyone in Paris saw it!”  
“Well if that’s the case,” Sidewinder growled, “then this rescue mission has become a revenge mission!” Sidewinder extended his rattle into a saber and charged at Volpina. Volpina blocked with her staff, but Sidewinder proceeded to kick her in the gut, knocking her back. Sidewinder swung his saber again, but Volpina rolled out of the way, still reeling in pain. Sidewinder thrust his saber at her, striking her in the chest, knocking her down. Volpina stood up and swung her flute at him, but he dodged every single swipe, and swung back with his saber every time.  
“You’re getting good at this, aren’t you?” Volpina said.  
“You won’t get away from me this time!” Sidewinder shouted as he charged her. She blocked once again, and made a retaliatory swing. Sidewinder dodged again, but Volpina grabbed his arm and threw him across the room, causing him to crash into Ladybug and Cat Noir. Sidewinder began to stand up when he saw Ladybug and Cat Noir fading behind him on the monitors. He turned and saw them dissolving into orange smoke.  
“More deception?” Sidewinder asked, “I thought you wanted to be trusted.” Sidewinder jumped Volpina and pinned her to the ground, hands on her wrists and foot on her stomach.  
“Where are the real ones?” Sidewinder demanded.  
“On the roof,” Volpina revealed, “hanging over a fan. When the rope breaks, they’ll be minced meat.”  
“Let’s try this again. Where are the real ones, for real this time?”  
“I just told you. That was the truth.” Sidewinder glared at Volpina.  
_She doesn’t seem to be lying,_ Sidewinder thought, _but can I really trust her?_ Sidewinder pulled her flute out of her hand and made for the door.

The rooftop door slammed open and Sidewinder came out. He looked around and saw Ladybug and Cat Noir, suspended by a thin rope over a ventilation fan, the rope slowly fraying under their weight. He closed his eyes and used his thermal vision: they were real.  
“Sidewinder, get us out of here!” Cat Noir shouted.  
“I’ll try.” Sidewinder answered. He ran around the roof, searching for a switch, a cable, or some other way to deactivate the fan. He found nothing. The rope began to break some more.  
“Sidewinder, hurry up!” Ladybug ordered.  
“Sorry, I’m trying my hardest. I can’t find an off-switch or anything.”  
“Then find some other way to stop it.” Ladybug advised. Sidewinder racked his brain, and got an idea. He shot his grappling hook at the fan, but got flung into one of the massive billboards. The rope broke some more.  
“Any day now would be nice.” Cat Noir snarked.  
“You don’t think I’m trying?!” Sidewinder yelled, “It’s a lot harder than it looks! I can’t figure it out...” Sidewinder fell to his knees. “I’m sorry, I’m a terrible hero.”  
“Now’s not the time to mope, Sidewinder.” Ladybug reminded, “You can do this, you just need to think. Concentrate!” Sidewinder shut his eyes, clenched his fists, and focused. Suddenly his eyes snapped open.  
“I think I have an idea.” Sidewinder said.  
“Serpent Séance!” he shouted as he raised his rattle into the air. He swung it out in front of him, drawing an infinity sign as he went, causing it to become charged with energy. He clutched the rattle with both hands and fell into a seiza posture. He closed his eyes, and his body became still.

Sidewinder awoke at the edge of a vast ocean, where everything was the same sea green as his costume, even the sand and the sky. The ocean, however, faded into solid ground ground, where the earth was covered in dead leaves, and the sky was a deep, autumnal orange. From the leaves emerged a woman, dressed in an orange and white tunic with an orange sash around her shoulders, and an orange mask covering her mouth and nose. An orange band was tied around her head, its ends tied like fox ears. She looked a lot like an old-fashioned version of Volpina.  
“Who are you?” Sidewinder asked, but as he spoke he noticed he was not speaking in English or French, but in strange hissing sounds. Nonetheless, he understood himself, and so did the woman in orange.  
“My name is Hóng Hú,” she said, but as Sidewinder spoke in hisses, she spoke in barks and howls, that Sidewinder understood without issue, “I wielded the Fox Miraculous in the time before you.”  
“I seek guidance, Hóng Hú. The power of the Fox Miraculous has been counterfeited, and used for evil. Ladybug and Cat Noir are in grave peril. The only power at my disposal is the counterfeit of your own, reclaimed from the villain who perverted it. What can I do?”  
“You are clearly in a difficult situation, child.” Hóng Hú said, “But take this advice: even an illusion can have a very real impact.”  
“What does that mean, Hóng Hú?”  
“I’m afraid there is too little time to explain. But I trust you will understand.” Hóng Hú retreated into the leaves once more, and Sidewinder felt a strange force pulling him backwards.

Sidewinder regained consciousness and found himself in the human world once more, sitting seiza and holding his rattle. He stood back up, and picked up Volpina’s flute.  
“‘Even an illusion can have a very real impact.’” Sidewinder wondered. The rope broke some more. He pondered for a moment, with little success, until he saw a black cat scurry along the roof.  
“I think I got it!” Sidewinder declared. He put the flute to his lips, and played some notes. An energy ball started to form, but suddenly Sidewinder hit a sour note, and it disappeared. He tried again. He got further, but hit another sour note.  
“You ever play one of those before?” Cat Noir shouted.  
“No,” Sidewinder admitted, “I’m more of a guitar guy, but I can get this. I just need to concentrate.” Sidewinder closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. All the world disappeared around him, and all there was was the flute. He began to play. C#, C#, B, B, rest, C#, C#, B, B, rest, C#, C#, B, B, A#, A#, B, B. C#, C#, B, B, rest, C#, C#, B, D#, rest, C#, C#, B, B, A#, A#, B, B. Finally, a full ball of energy formed, and he flung it into a ventilation shaft.

The monitor room was dark and mostly empty. Only one guard was in there, a glaze in his eyes as he watched the screens. He almost drifted off to sleep until he noticed movement on a top floor camera. He took a closer look at the screen: a black cat appeared to be wandering through the ventilation shaft. He quickly reached for his radio.  
“Hey, maintenance?” he said, “ I think I see something in the vents on the top floor.”  
“What?” said the voice on the other end, “How could that have happened?”  
“I don’t know. But I swear I’m seeing something on the camera. Looks like a cat or something.”  
“Well, I’m gonna turn off the vents and check, just to be sure.”  
“Copy that.” The guard put down his radio and resumed watching the screens.

The rope was wearing thin, it clearly wouldn’t be able to go much longer. The sound of the fan roared in Ladybug and Cat Noir’s ears. They braced for the inevitable when suddenly the roar died. They opened their eyes and looked down. The fan had stopped. They were safe.  
“Cat Noir, the ropes!” Ladybug barked.  
“Right.” Cat Noir said, “Just let me reposition my hand, make sure I don’t get you by mistake.” Cat Noir jerked around in the rope for a moment, causing Ladybug to wince.  
“Ow. Claws.”  
“Oh, sorry.” Cat Noir said, “But I think I’m good now. Cataclysm!” The rope began to break down and fray at an even faster rate, and the duo fell onto the stopped fan, surrounded by Manila hemp fibers. The two dusted themselves off.  
“Thanks, Sidewinder.” Ladybug said, “Way to use your head.”  
“Well, I did get some help,” Sidewinder admitted, “but yeah, I did it.”  
“Help? What are you talking about.” Before Sidewinder had a chance to answer, however, they were interrupted by the sound of a slow clap. They turned and saw Volpina sarcastically clapping.  
“Well done, newbie.” she said, “But you haven’t won yet.” Volpina jumped to Sidewinder and grabbed back her flute. She played a tune and created an illusion of multiple Volpinas, all of them surrounding the trio.  
“Seriously, this trick again?” Ladybug said. “Don’t worry, I got this.”  
“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug shouted as she kicked up one leg and threw her yo-yo into the air. Little hearts began pouring out of the yo-yo, and they formed into a boomerang, which landed in Ladybug’s hands.  
“A boomerang?” she asked, “I was expecting a mirror, or something else.” Ladybug turned back to Volpina, who responded by running around the rooftop with her clones: too fast for Ladybug to keep track of.  
“Sidewinder,” she asked, “you can tell the real one from the fakes, right? Tell me when she reaches the first billboard.” Sidewinder closed his eyes, and fixed his concentration on a single point. He saw a blur of yellow and green approach the billboard.  
“Now!” Ladybug threw her boomerang at the first billboard. It hit a decoy, causing it to disintegrate.  
“Well, that didn’t work.” Cat Noir said redundantly.  
“Really?” Sidewinder snarked, “I thought we had successfully landed a hit and just made her disappear.”  
“Let’s try something else.” Ladybug said. She looked around the rooftop, and took notice of the billboards, one of the satellite dishes, the stairwell, and all the duplicates. Ladybug smirked.  
“Watch yourselves, boys.” Ladybug threw the boomerang at the satellite dish, where it bounced off and struck one of the duplicates, which in turn bounced it onto the billboard, where it bounced and hit another duplicate on its way back to the satellite dish. It bounced off of that, as well as the wall of the stairwell, but struck two more duplicates on the way to the billboard, where it continued the loop until it finally knocked the real Volpina down in front of them. Volpina stood up and reached for her flute, but her wrist was suddenly caught by Ladybug’s yo-yo string. Likewise, she found her other wrist tangled in Sidewinder’s rattle string. The two looked at each other and nodded simultaneously before yanking Volpina to the ground. Ladybug offered her yo-yo string to Sidewinder, who hesitated.  
“Just hold it for a second.” she assured. Sidewinder took the string and Ladybug strutted towards Volpina. She took the pendant off from around her neck, threw it on the ground and stomped her heel on it. The akuma flew out and tried to fly away, but was startled by Sidewinder tossing Ladybug her yo-yo.  
“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma.” Ladybug said as she ran her finger down the middle of the yo-yo, causing it to open into two elytra, revealing a pool of pink energy. Ladybug spun her yo-yo in the air while standing on one leg. “Time to de-evilize!” she shouted as she threw the yo-yo at the akuma, catching it in the pool. The elytra closed around the yo-yo as she reeled it back in. “Gotcha!” she said. Ladybug returned to her normal stance, and tapped the yo-yo again, causing it to reopen and release the purified butterfly.  
“Bye bye, little butterfly.” Ladybug whispered before throwing the boomerang into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” she shouted as the boomerang exploded into a swarm of ladybugs that flew around the city, repairing all the damage caused in the fight, and transforming Volpina back into Lila. Cat Noir held up his fist to Ladybug.  
“Pound it?” he asked. Ladybug glanced off at Sidewinder.  
“Hey Sidewinder, want in?” she asked.  
“Heck yeah!” Sidewinder squealed before going up to Ladybug and Cat Noir.  
“Pound it!” they all said in unison as they fist bumped. As their hands collided, however, the third of the five diamonds on Sidewinder’s bracelet faded away.  
“Whoa, I gotta get going.” Sidewinder exclaimed, “Sssee you later.”  
“Okay, seriously, stop the hissing.” Ladybug groaned.  
“Ssso-- oops. Sorry.” Sidewinder shot his grappling hook and zipped away.

The next morning at school, Pat showed up rather tired. Nonetheless, he took his seat next to Nathaniel as always.  
“Still a little jet-lagged, huh?” Nathaniel remarked, noticing the slight dark circles around Pat’s eyes.  
“Either that or all that homework.” Pat joked.  
“I can relate.” Nathaniel chuckled before returning to his sketches.  
“So, I asked my host parents. They said I could go over to your place this afternoon.”  
“Cool.” Nathaniel said, “Hope you like Majestia games.”  
“As long as they’re on GamerBox. The PC versions are never as good.” Both of them laughed together until Lila walked into the room, thrusting herself into her chair.  
“Excuse me for a second.” Pat asked before standing up and approaching Lila.  
“What do you want?” she growled.  
“I just wanted to introduce myself.” Pat explained, “I’m Pat McNeil.” Pat extended his hand. Lila looked up at him, confused by the gesture.  
“Lila Rossi.” Lila said as she shook his hand, “You’ve... probably heard of me.”  
“Oh, really? Where from?”  
“The girl who always lies.”  
“You can’t be the girl who always tells lies, if you were you would’ve just told the truth.” Lila stared at Pat quizzically.  
“My point is,” he explained, “that I’m willing to give you a fair shot, despite your reputation.”  
“Well then, “ Lila said, “thank you.”  
“No worries.” Pat said as he turned to return to his desk. “Oh, I almost forgot. You seemed to be out the other day, wanna copy my notes?”  
“Sure.” Pat handed his notebook to Lila.  
“Just hand it back to me when you’re done. I’m right behind you.”  
“Thanks.” Pat returned to his seat, and noticed Adrien shoot him a proud smile.


	3. Cinemaster

Pat and Nathaniel stepped through the glass door into the cinema, and walked towards the ticket booth.  
"You excited, Nath?" Pat asked his friend as they approached the back of the line.  
"Yeah, definitely." Nathaniel replied in a subdued voice, "You know how much I love Knightowl."  
"Huh, I never got into her, to be honest. Growing up, I only really followed Majestia."  
"Really? Well, if you want I could lend you some of my Knightowl comics."  
"No, it's okay. I think I got the gist of it. Back in America, my sister was a pretty big fan of her, so sometimes I'd catch an episode of the animated series."  
"That was pretty good, too." As Nathaniel spoke, Pat saw Marinette and Alya out the corner of his eye, coming through the door and getting in line behind them.  
"Oh hey, Marinette." Pat said, waving. Nathaniel turned to see Marinette, and promptly crossed his arms and looked off.  
"Hey, Pat." Marinette replied.  
"And it's Alya, right?" Pat asked.  
"Yeah." Alya said, "Nice meeting you."  
"I recognized you from that blog you run about Ladybug." Pat explained, "Looks like you got a lot of traction there."  
"Yeah, I'll admit I didn't expect it to blow up like it did. But sometimes that just happens, you know?"  
"What you guys seeing?"  
"Oh, Alya dragged me out to see the new Majestia vs. Knightowl movie." Marinette revealed.  
"Oh, nice. Nathaniel and I are seeing that, too."  
"Cool." Marinette replied, "Hey, Nathan." Nathaniel jumped at the mention of his name, and nervously waved at her. Marinette bit her lip and turned back to Alya. Alya glanced out the window, and something caught her eye.  
"Marinette," Alya whispered, "seven o'clock."  
"Huh?" Marinette asked before turning to her left, and seeing Adrien and Nino walking up to the door. Marinette softly squealed as Adrien walked through the door, drawing Pat's attention. Marinette shook her head violently, bringing herself back down to earth.  
"Yeah, dude," Nino said, "it's directed by this new guy, Pierre Fontana. I wasn't too sure about him. But then I saw this short film he made, _Night of the Ghoul_, so stoked."  
"Hey," Pat said, "you guys talking about _Majestia vs. Knightowl_?"  
"You know it!" Nino affirmed, "Adrien managed to get his pops to let him come see it."  
"This movie's a pretty big deal, huh." Pat noted.  
"Obviously," Alya pointed out, "these are two of the biggest superheroines in comic history!"  
"Wait, Knightowl's a girl?" Adrien asked.  
"Yeah." Alya said, "You didn't know that?"  
"No." Adrien admitted, "I know, like, nothing about comic books."  
"To be fair, it was a pretty big shock when it was first revealed... in 1947." Alya teased.  
"Well, I...uh guess we're all...uh seeing this movie to-to-together then." Marinette stammered, scratching the back of her neck and smiling awkwardly as she spoke.  
"Uh...yeah." Pat awkwardly agreed as they reached the front of the line, "So are we all chipping in and buying all the tickets at once, or..."  
"Sounds good to me." Alya approved, and they each handed Pat a €10 note. Pat turned to the ticket booth attendant and handed over the money.  
"Six tickets to _Majestia vs. Knightowl_, please." Pat requested.  
"Where would you like to sit?" The attendant asked as she gestured toward the seating chart. Pat turned to the others.  
"I was thinking middle row. Sound good?" he asked. The others all nodded in approval. Pat turned back to the attendant, "Okay, we'll take D...3-8."  
"Okay, you're all set, here's your change." the attendant said as she handed Pat six ticket stubs, as well as a €20 note and various coins, which Pat quickly counted out as 94c.  
"Thank you." Pat, Nathaniel and the others all abandoned the ticket booth and made their way towards the theaters. 

Roughly two and a half hours later, the six teenagers walked out of the theater, discarding empty popcorn buckets and candy wrappers.  
"What'd you think of the movie, Nath?" Pat asked awkwardly.  
"It was..." Nathaniel trailed off.  
"It was awful, wasn't it?" Alya interjected, and was met with nods and "uh-huh"s.  
"Yeah, pretty stupid if you ask me." Pat chuckled, "probably up there with Knightowl and Sparrow."  
"Except you could actually laugh at Knightowl and Sparrow."  
"Well I remember there were some pretty funny moments... unintentionally funny, but still."  
"Well _I_ was most certainly not laughing." Alya retorted, "Nino, what did you think?"  
"I hated it." Nino said, "The plot line made absolutely no sense, and for some reason every shot was underexposed."  
"Underex-what?" Marinette asked.  
"Underexposed," Nino clarified, "it means that they didn't get enough light onto the film to get good detailing. I feel like they did it to make the film feel grittier, but it just got distracting."  
"Ok, I think I get it." Marinette acknowledged as they heard a car horn through the window.  
"Oh, that's the Gorilla." Adrien said, "I need to get going."  
"Okay, see ya." Pat said.  
"Bye, Adrien." Alya said. Adrien exited the cinema.  
"Who's the Gorilla?" Pat asked Nino.  
"His bodyguard." Nino explained, "He's huge and he never speaks, just like a gorilla."  
"Gotcha." Pat acknowledged.  
"What'd you think, Marinette?" Alya asked.  
"Oh, I didn't really enjoy it that much." Marinette admitted, "I think we should get going."  
"Yeah, you're right. See you, guys."  
"Bye." Pat said as the girls left the cinema. Nathaniel nervously waved at Marinette again. Pat shot a knowing glance at Nathaniel.  
"You like Marinette?" Pat asked coyly.  
"Yeah." Nathaniel admitted, staring at the floor.  
"You know, she does seem like a nice girl. I think you'd be pretty good together."  
"Thanks."  
"Does she... know?" Pat asked, recalling Marinette's awkward reaction before the movie.  
"Almost all of the class knows." Nathaniel admitted, "It was actually kind of embarrassing."  
"Oh. Well, why don't you ask her out then?"  
"I just get nervous is all."  
"Ah. I've been there, believe me." Suddenly Pat felt a vibration in his pocket, and took out his phone.  
"Movie over yet?" Read the text from Candace, Pat's host mother.  
"Yes. Should be home soon." Pat replied. He turned back to Nathaniel.  
"We should probably get going." Pat said.  
"Yeah, you're right." Nathaniel agreed, and they walked out of the theater and down the stairs to the metro station.

Pat shut and locked the door to his bedroom, which prompted Rattle, the green snake kwami hiding in his shirt collar, to fly out and slither through the air towards a basket of pomegranates on Pat's desk. Pat, meanwhile, sat down and turned on his computer.  
"Whatcha doing?" Rattle asked with his trademark hiss.  
"Just checking out the reviews of the movie." Pat explained.  
"Ooh." Rattle interjected before slithering over to beside Pat's head. "What's this websssite?" he asked, gesturing towards the screen, which was filled with film posters, with two fractions out of 10 underneath each one.  
"Omnicritic.com," Pat explained, "it's a review aggregator. It collects the reviews and scores given to various films by critics and regular moviegoers."  
"Ah, makes sssenssse. What do the numbers mean?"  
"That shows what fraction of the audience enjoyed a movie." Pat clicked on the poster for _Majestia vs. Knightowl_, which read "Pro-Score: 1/10, Omni-Score: 3/10"  
"What do "Pro-Ssscore and Omni-Ssscore mean?" Rattle inquired.  
"Pro-Score is how many professional critics out of ten gave a positive review, Omni-Score is how many regular filmgoers out of ten said they liked it. They even give a summary of the reviews underneath, look." Pat pointed to a small blurb under the Pro-Score, which read 'Flashy effects and shoehorned comic references sadly do not make up for the incoherent storytelling, underdeveloped villain, and crowded cast. Director Pierre Fontana's feature film debut, and it clearly shows.'"  
"Wow," Rattle reacted, "critics can be harssshhh."  
"Yeah, maybe they're being a little rough on it, but I agree, it wasn't a good film." Pat closed out of the website and opened up his math textbook. "Now I'm gonna do some homework, then maybe we'll go out and burn off some steam."  
"Yeah, burn off some sssteam." Rattle agreed as he dove back into the basket of pomegranates.

Pat was not the only one looking at Omnicritic that evening. On the contrary, over a million people visited that site just in one day, and among them was Pierre Fontana himself.  
"'Incoherent storytelling, underdeveloped villain, and crowded cast.'" Pierre read, "'Director Pierre Fontana's feature film debut, and it clearly shows...'" Pierre slammed the lid down on his laptop. "I worked really hard on that movie! I poured my blood, sweat and tears into it and... and this is how they respond?!" Pierre cradled his head in his hands as he growled in anger.

Pierre's frustration did not go unnoticed. Far across Paris, a massive aperture opened in front of a man in a purple suit, surrounded by white moths.  
"A director, snubbed by his audience." the man said, "Truly his performance deserves an akuma award." The man held out his hand, and one of the moths landed in his palm. He clasped his other hand over it, and summoned a strange black energy into his hands. He unclasped his hands, revealing the now-black and purple butterfly, which fluttered towards the small hole in the window.  
"Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize him!"

The akuma flew through the window to Pierre's office, as Pierre clutched his megaphone. The akuma landed on the megaphone, and was instantly absorbed into it. Lines of pink energy formed a butterfly shape around Pierre's face, as a devious grin spread across it.  
"Cinemaster," the voice of the man in purple said as a vision of him appeared to Pierre, "I am Hawk Moth. The people didn't like your last picture, so you will have the power to direct _them_ for your next one. And all I ask in return is the greatest accolade in the world." A pair of ladybug-themed earrings and a black cat-themed ring each appeared on either side of Hawk Moth's head in Pierre's vision.  
"Ladybug and Cat Noir will make the perfect stars for my next movie." Pierre agreed, "And trust me, I've been dying to do a tragedy." A cloud of the same black energy emanated from Pierre's megaphone, enveloping his whole body. When the smoke dissipated, Pierre's entire body took on sepia tones, and he wore a newsy cap, light-colored button shirt with dark colored bowtie, and dark colored pants held up by film strip-printed suspenders. Cinemaster spun his megaphone like a cowboy's pistol and put it on his hip.  
"Time to start production." he said menacingly.

Pat strode into the classroom just like any other day and passed Alya and Marinette's seats, one of which was noticeably empty.  
"Where's Marinette?" Pat asked Alya.  
"Oh, she's probably just running late." Alya explained, "It's nothing new for her." Alya took out her phone and began scrolling through, "Seriously?!"  
"What?" Pat asked.  
"_Majestia vs. Knightowl_ just surpassed 8 million dollars at the box office! And that's just the French market, too. Once this goes international, it's bound to rake in tons more!"  
"Well, who knows? Maybe by the time it goes international, bad word of mouth will have spread so far that no one wants to see it." Pat took his seat next to Nathaniel: Lila was standing outside the classroom, and Ivan was over talking to Mylène, so the space between Pat and Alya was empty.  
"Like there's such a thing as bad publicity." Alya snarked. Suddenly Marinette burst through the door and started rambling.  
"Hisorryimlateimustvestayeduptoolonglastnightyouknowhowiti-"  
"Cool it, girl." Alya interrupted, "Class hasn't even started yet."  
"Oh, sorry." Marinette said as she took her seat. Pat gave Nathaniel a slight nudge, and gestured towards Marinette. Nathaniel shook his head in response.

The noontime sun shone bright over the Place des Vosges as most of the school walked into the park with their lunches. Pat, Nathaniel, Alya and Marinette all clustered together.  
"Seriously, Pat," Alya challenged, "name one time the movie made you laugh."  
"Come on, every time Max Masters tried to be awesome, he ended up looking ridiculous." Pat reminded.  
"That's what ticks me off the most about that movie!"  
"Yeah, that was definitely not Max Masters." Pat agreed, "But he was still funny to watch, at least on my end of things."  
"Not on my end, that's for sure."  
"QUIET ON THE SET!" came a booming voice all of a sudden. Everyone in the park turned to see Cinemaster, standing behind a sepia-colored camera, holding his megaphone. Pat tried to speak, but found himself unable to make a sound.  
"I'm looking for some new talent to star in my new movie." Cinemaster revealed, talking through his megaphone, "You all thought my last one was so horrible, so let's see you do it better. Places!" Most of the parkgoers mindlessly assumed a position in front of the camera. Pat, however, managed to resist, clenching his right hand into a fist and bolting away from the park. He didn't see Marinette and Adrien bolting off in different directions, nor did they see him, or each other. Pat ducked behind a mailbox outside the place. He cleared his throat: the sound was as clear as a bell. Rattle poked his head out of Pat's collar.  
"Looks like someone couldn't handle the backlash." Pat explained, "Ladybug and Cat Noir will be here any minute, and they'll need our help. Rattle, fangs out!" Pat invoked, causing Rattle to slither into the bracelet on his right wrist. Pat ran his hand down his face, and a snake mask appeared over his eyes. He ran the same hand down his left arm, and a sleeve of green, mesh-covered fabric appeared on his arm. He did the same with his left hand on his right arm, and then ran both hands down his torso. The same material that covered his arms appeared all over the rest of his body, creating a diamond patterned costume. A rattle appeared on his hip, and Pat, now Sidewinder, assumed a fighting stance.

Cinemaster framed the scene with his fingers, every parkgoer standing statue still.  
"Perfect!" he said as he flipped the switch on the camera, causing the film reels to start turning. "Rolling."  
"Filming a meow-tion picture?" came a voice from behind Cinemaster. He turned to see Cat Noir, hanging onto a lamp post. "You should've invited me. I have a great paw-dition tape." Cat Noir pounced from the lamp post onto Cinemaster, who quickly threw Cat Noir off and into the crowd of people.  
"Don't worry, Cat Noir," Cinemaster sarcastically assured, "I have the perfect role for you." Cinemaster put a clapper board in front of the camera and clapped it shut, only for the board to get knocked out of his hands by a red and black-spotted yo-yo. He turned to see Ladybug flying into him, feet-first, and promptly was knocked down. Ladybug then jumped, flipped, and landed beside Cat Noir. They heard a rustling in the leaves of the tree over their head, and looked up, only to see Sidewinder descending down from his rattle string.  
"Sidewinder," Cat Noir said as Sidewinder touched down, "glad you could make it."  
"Just glad to help." Sidewinder replied as he whipped his rattle, extending it into a saber-like weapon.  
"Perfect timing!" Cinemaster complimented, "We just finished setting up the shoot. Action!" On Cinemaster's cue, everyone in the shot transformed into bronze robots with energy swords, and charged at Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Sidewinder. Sidewinder used his extended rattle to knock an energy sword out of one the hands of one of the droids, and proceeded to retract the rattle and smack the droid in the face, knocking it to the ground. Cat Noir, meanwhile, engaged in a fencing match with one of the droids, and Ladybug took out five droids with a single swing of her yo-yo.  
"The akuma must be in his camera." Ladybug surmised, fixating her vision on the camera.  
"So how do we destroy it?" Cat Noir asked as he knocked a droid down with a riposte.  
"Simple." Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the camera, however it was knocked away by another droid. "Maybe not so simple." Ladybug ceded.  
"It's okay," Sidewinder said, "we can handle this."  
"You're right, Sidewinder." Ladybug confirmed as she resumed fighting.  
"I'll try to make a way to the camera." Sidewinder announced as he kicked one of the droids to the ground and punched another.  
"Let me give a helping paw." Cat Noir offered before swinging his extended staff at two more droids, knocking both them and the droids behind them down.  
"Thanks, kitty." Sidewinder said.  
"No prob." Cat Noir replied. The two continued proceeded to knock down a couple more droids. Sidewinder picked up one of their laser swords.  
"Let's see how they like a taste of their own weapons!" Sidewinder exclaimed as he swung the sword at more droids, knocking them to the ground. He extended his rattle back out and began dual wielding the two sabers.  
"Nice idea." Cat Noir said before splitting his staff into two smaller sticks.  
"We'd probably be doing better if you remembered you could do that earlier." Sidewinder teased as he won a pushing contest against another droid, knocking it down. Cat Noir knocked down a couple more droids, finally creating an opening to the camera.  
"Ladybug, it's open!" Cat Noir shouted, and Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the camera, knocking it off it's tripod and causing it to break.  
"NO!" Cinemaster shouted before he raced to the camera and grabbed the film reels. He gave the reels a once over, and sighed. "Everything's good." Cinemaster got back up and turned to the horde of droids. "CUT!" he shouted, and all the droids instantly stopped. "That's a wrap, people, let's head back." Cinemaster snapped his fingers, and a sepia toned bus appeared from thin air. He and the droids all boarded the bus, film reels still in hand, and the remaining equipment was sucked into the under-compartments. The bus drove off and disappeared, leaving behind a dazed trio of heroes.  
"I guess the akuma wasn't in his camera." Ladybug concluded.  
"But at least we found a sore point." Cat Noir observed.  
"Yeah, but how are we gonna find him?" Sidewinder asked.  
"Hmm..." Ladybug wondered before suddenly snapping her fingers, "Of course. He's at the film studio!"  
"Obviously!" Sidewinder agreed, "I can't believe I hadn't thought of that."  
"Looks like one of us is thinking, at least." Cat Noir teased.  
"Come on, we gotta catch up to him." Ladybug said before she threw her yo-yo and swung off, followed closely by Cat Noir and Sidewinder.

Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Sidewinder landed outside of one of the large black studios in the Cité du Cinéma.  
"Which one do you think he's in?" Cat Noir asked.  
"The scenes for _Majestia vs. Knightowl_ filmed here were shot in studio 5," Sidewinder recited, "which would be the big one in the middle."  
"You really know your stuff, Sidewinder." Ladybug noted.  
"What can I say?" Sidewinder boasted, "It just comes naturally." Cat Noir took a peek through the open door to studio 5, and saw Alya and Nino tied up and being held at gunpoint by two men in butterfly ski masks, surrounded by an elaborate dungeon set. Cinemaster was sitting behind the camera again, holding his megaphone as always.  
"He's got hostages." Cat Noir whispered. Sidewinder peeked in as well.  
"So anachronistic." Sidewinder whined softly, "Nylon didn't exist until the middle of the 20th century, they wouldn't be using it in medieval dungeons."  
"Really?" Cat Noir berated, "Cinemaster has hostages, who could potentially be killed, and you're concerned about whether the rope used is period accurate?"  
"Right, sorry."  
"We need to go in and help them." Ladybug said.  
"What if it's a trap?" Sidewinder worried.  
"Then we spring the trap. Be on your guard, boys." Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the studio and swung in from the rafters. Cat Noir and Sidewinder followed her in, and saw Ladybug knock out both mooks before untying Alya and Nino.  
"Well played, Ladybug." Cinemaster applauded, "You nailed the rescue scene in one take. Too bad there won't be one for you and your friends." Suddenly Alya punched Ladybug in the face.  
"Alya?" Ladybug gasped.  
"It's all part of the act, Ladybug." Alya sneered as she raised her fist again, only to find it caught in Sidewinder's rattle string. Sidewinder gave a tug, and Alya was pulled to the ground. Nino came running towards Cat Noir and Sidewinder, but Cat Noir knocked him down with a single strike from his staff.  
"Sorry, dude," Cat Noir quipped, "can't have you messing up my fur. Got a date later."  
"Sure you do." Sidewinder snarked in return. Suddenly, however, more mooks emerged from all around the set, prompting Ladybug to get back up and rejoin her teammates.  
"I'm not gonna say I told you so, but..."  
"Save it, Sidewinder." Ladybug interrupted as she kicked one of the mooks in the face, knocking him to the floor. Sidewinder swung his rattle string like a whip, striking a mook in the chest and sending him to the ground. Cat Noir extended his staff and swung it, knocking down several mooks at once. Another mook charged at Ladybug, but she caught his hand in her yo-yo string and pulled him to the ground before punching another one in the face. Sidewinder stiffened his rattle string into its saber form and swung it at two more mooks in succession, knocking them both unconscious. They continued to fight mooks, but soon were interrupted by a deafening siren from Cinemaster's megaphone.  
"A superhero film is only as good as it's villain, anyway," Cinemaster ceded, "and who better to play the part than myself?" Cat Noir threw a punch at Cinemaster, but Cinemaster caught his arm and flung him over his head. Sidewinder shot his rattle string at Cinemaster, but he grabbed the string and pulled him to the floor. Sidewinder made his way back to his feet and charged at Cinemaster, fist-first. Cinemaster grabbed for his arm, but he pulled it away at the last second and landed a kick to the chest instead. Cinemaster stood up, however, and blasted Sidewinder with a sonic attack, knocking him and Ladybug backwards. The mooks they failed to defeat, as well as some who had gotten back up, approached Ladybug and Sidewinder, cornering them against the wall of the dungeon.  
"Got any ideas, LB?" Sidewinder asked impatiently.  
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her yo-yo into the air. A shower of hearts emanated from the yo-yo, and formed into a red and black-spotted flashlight, which fell into Ladybug's hands.  
"A flashlight?" Ladybug asked as the mooks gained on them, pinning Sidewinder to the wall. Ladybug looked around, and took notice of the iron maiden prop, Cinemaster, Sidewinder's rattle, and the film reels.  
"Cat Noir, distract them!" Ladybug demanded.  
"Right, Cataclysm!" Cat Noir said as black energy gathered in his right hand, which he clenched into a fist. He ran towards the iron maiden and touched it, causing it to fall apart and make a clatter. The mooks all turned towards Cat Noir and began pursuing him.  
"The problem with improvised action," Sidewinder quipped, "it can get derailed very easily." Cinemaster grabbed his megaphone again and went for the trigger, but Ladybug vaulted over him.  
"Sidewinder, the film reels!" Ladybug shouted, prompting Sidewinder to shoot his grappling hook and remove the cover from the camera's film reels. Ladybug shined the flashlight onto the film reels, burning the negative image away into pitch black. Cinemaster dropped his megaphone and ran to the camera.  
"The film!" he shouted, "My movie! It's ruined! NOOO!!!" Ladybug walked over to his megaphone and crushed it under her foot, releasing the akuma.  
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug said as she opened her yo-yo, revealing a pool of pink energy. She spun her yo-yo around and stood on one foot. "Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the akuma, capturing it in the yo-yo, which closed around it. Ladybug pulled the yo-yo back towards her. "Gotcha!" Ladybug opened the yo-yo again, releasing an ordinary white butterfly. "Bye bye, little butterfly." "Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted as she threw the flashlight into the air, causing it to disperse into a swarm of ladybugs, which flew around Paris, repairing the iron maiden and everything else destroyed in the fight. Cinemaster transformed back into Pierre Fontana in a puff of black smoke.  
"Pound it!" the three heroes said in unison as their fists collided. Sidewinder turned towards Pierre, who was looking around the studio dazed and confused.  
"Where-what happened?" Pierre asked.  
"You were akumatized." Sidewinder explained as he took a knee in front of him, "I think the critics got to you."  
"Yeah, they really did. Sorry."  
"It happens to the best of us, don't worry. Just remember, there's a lot of value in good criticism. You can use it to learn, to improve. Just don't let it get you down."  
"You're right. I won't." Ladybug's earrings began to beep suddenly.  
"And that's my cue." Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo out the door, where it bounced off the asphalt and into the air until it found a good hold. "Bug out." Ladybug tugged the yo-yo string, and she dragged herself out.  
"That's all, folks!" Cat Noir concurred as he ran out the door, leaving Sidewinder by himself.  
"Well, I should probably get going." Sidewinder said as he ran for the door as well.

The next day, Pat sat next to Nathaniel in class once again, and yet again Ivan and Lila had yet to take their seats.  
"Why?!" Alya moaned at her phone.  
"What?" Pat asked as he leaned over for a closer look.  
"Pierre Fontana has been signed on to direct the Ladybug and Cat Noir movie."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. Apparently, _Majestia vs. Knightowl_ may have been a critical failure, but it made tons of money at the box office, and that's all studios care about."  
"Well, maybe he's learned from the criticisms his last movie got."  
"Always the idealist, aren't you, Pat? Look, the fact is, _Majestia vs. Knightowl_ made millions, so he's gonna make another _Majestia vs. Knightowl_ out of Ladybug and Cat Noir because, that's just what works."  
"Whatever, I've got my hopes up." Pat paused, "Okay, not very high." Alya chuckled and turned back to the front of the room. Marinette then walked through the door, and Pat nudged Nathaniel once again. Nathaniel looked up at Marinette, and turned back to Pat, shaking his head. Pat nudged him again, a little harder this time, and Nathaniel relented.  
"Hey... Marinette." Nathaniel stammered, "You look... nice today."  
"Thanks, Nathaniel." Marinette smiled as she took her usual seat.  
"Good job, bro." Pat said. Nathaniel turned away and began sketching in his notebook, though out the corner of his eye, Pat noticed the corner of Nathaniel's mouth turn upward slightly.


	4. Plasticizer

Nathaniel stepped into the somewhat messy bedroom, where Pat was seated on his bed playing a game on a handheld system.  
"Hey, Nath," Pat said as he exited out of the race, "glad you could make it."  
"No problem." Nathaniel said as he took a look around.  
"Sorry, I'm a bit of a mess."  
"That's alright. I mean, you've seen what my room looks like, this is nothing." Nathaniel walked over towards Pat's desk.  
"You know, Nathaniel," Pat said as he stood up from his bed, "You seem a bit more... outgoing than I thought you were, when we first met."  
"Oh? Well, I just... I guess that... I don't know, it's just... you're the first person I've really felt comfortable being outgoing with." Pat hugged Nathaniel, startling him for a moment.  
"Sorry." Pat said.  
"It's okay." Nathaniel replied before turning back to Pat's desk, "What's this?" He said as he picked up a small, tan robot toy.  
"Oh, that's Sandrover, one of my Metamorphers."  
"Metamorphers? I don't remember this guy from the movie."  
"Oh, he's not from the movie, he's from the anime."  
"There was a Metamorphers anime?"  
"You've never heard of-" Pat started to get a little worked up, but took a deep breath and calmed back down. "I gotta show you this." Pat sat down at his desk and opened his laptop. He logged into Netflix and pulled up an episode of Metamorphers.  
"Wanna watch?" he said. Nathaniel shrugged.  
"Sure." Nathaniel said, pulling up a folding chair while Pat started the episode, humming along to the opening theme.

"Soldiers," said the large white robot on the screen, "thanks to your valiant efforts, we were able to stop Ultricus and his Ultreons from destroying the city."  
"But, Maximus, they got away from us." said a small orange robot standing in front of him.  
"Yes, Upshift. But as long as we continue to fight with justice on our side, he cannot win no matter what he tries. Techneons, let's drive." Maximus converted into a pick-up truck and drove away, followed by the other robots who had also turned into automobiles. The end credits rolled.  
"So, what did you think?" Pat asked.  
"It was... alright." Nathaniel said.  
"Yeah, the show hasn't aged all that well, but the toys are still really good." Pat said as he fidgeted with Sandrover, turning him into a tan beach buggy. He sighed as he put Sandrover on the table.  
"What's up?" Nathaniel said.  
"Just kind of missing home, that's all. You should see it, I have like shelves of Metamorphers back there. But I couldn't exactly bring them all with me, so I just brought Sandrover along to keep me entertained. And, he's fun and all, but..."  
"Not the same?"  
"Yeah." A deafening silence fell across the room for a few moments, until Nathaniel took out his own handheld console.  
"Hey, wanna race?" Nathaniel offered.  
"Sure." Pat said. He picked up his handheld and opened up the racing game again.

Later that evening, after Nathaniel had left, Pat browsed through the various Metamorpher message boards, commenting on recent news, and occasionally contributing to discussion threads. He glanced over at Sandrover, who was barely bigger than a matchbox car, a Basic, in Metamorpher terms.  
"Maybe I could just... browse around." Pat searched for "Metamorphers for sale" online, and saw a number of results come up. One in particular caught his eye: "2009 metamorpher hotwire, loose, complete" listed for €10.  
"Classics Hotwire for €10?! Why not?" Pat purchased the item.

The next day, Pat came home from school and was greeted by Candace, his host mother, as usual.  
"Anything exciting happen at school today?" she asked.  
"Thankfully, no." Pat responded.  
"Oh, by the way, were you expecting anything in the mail today, Pat?"  
"Oh yeah, is it here?"  
"Yeah. It's on the counter over there."  
"Thanks." Pat rushed to the counter and grabbed the package. He took a knife out of the kitchen drawer and cut the tape. He took out a baby blue sports car with a yellow lightning deco down the sides.  
"Is that one of those Metamorpher things?" Candace asked.  
"Yeah, I was feeling a little homesick, so I bought it online yesterday. Real cheap, too."  
"Well, at least it's good to know you didn't spend too much on it. Still, it seems awfully impulsive of you to just buy a toy because you're homesick." Hearing this, Pat set the toy down on the counter.  
"I suppose you're right, sorry. I won't do it again."  
"It's okay, Pat. Just consult with us before you just buy something out of the blue."  
"Thanks. I'm gonna bring this upstairs." Pat put the car back in the box and carried it up the stairs.

Meanwhile, in another part of Paris, a teenage boy dug around his room in search of something.  
"Hey Mom?" he called down the hall, "Have you seen Hotwire anywhere? The blue car Metamorph-"  
"Yes, Tyler, I know what you're talking about."  
"You know where it is?"  
"I got rid of it."  
"What?"  
"You never played with it anymore, it was just collecting dust in your room, like everything else."  
"But Mom-" Tyler started.  
"No use getting sentimental, Tyler."  
"It was a collectible, Mom!"  
"Goodness, Tyler, if you want to talk to me, come where I am, don't holler across the house!" Tyler didn't leave his room. On the contrary, he slammed his door shut and stormed towards his bed. He sat down on the bed and picked up a Metamorpher role-play blaster off a nearby shelf. He clutched the dart gun in his hand as a single tear ran down his cheek.

"A collector, separated from his prize." said Hawk Moth, standing before his window as always. "I can relate to your plight, young man." He held out his hand for a butterfly to land on, and he clasped his other hand over it. Purple energy gathered between his palms, and he released a black and purple akuma into the sky.  
"Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize him!" The butterfly flew through the window and into the skyline.

Tyler continued to clutch his Metamorpher gun as the akuma flew in through the window. The butterfly entered into the plastic rifle, and a strangely pleasant chill ran up his arm as a light mask formed in the shape of a butterfly around his face.  
"Plasticizer," Hawk Moth said, "I am Hawk Moth. I am giving you the power to turn any toy into the real thing. Now nothing will stop you from getting your hands on all the Metamorphers or any other collectibles you seek. And all I ask in return is for you to bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous."  
"I'll bring them to you, Hawk Moth, in mint condition even." Tyler said with a sinister grin. He stood up and was enveloped in a cloud of purple smoke, and when it dissipated, he was dressed in a suit of plastic armor, resembling a dark purple version of Maximus from the Metamorphers anime. He shot his blaster at a train Metamorpher, which drove out the window and grew to full size.

Pat held Hotwire in his hands and examined the various panel lines and hinges.  
_Didn't include the instructions. _Pat thought,_ Oh well, I can figure this out on my own, and if I can't, I can just look online._ Pat popped open the car doors, and noticed something on the inside. Scribbled onto the back of the clear green panel, opposite the blue paint for the actual door, were the letters "TJ".  
_Huh, guess whoever owned this last was really concerned about losing it._ Pat shrugged this off and continued to move parts around. It was fairly complex, far more than Sandrover, with pieces folding in on themselves and rotating around to expose hidden details, but it wasn't difficult for Pat to get him into its robot form.  
"Nice." hissed a voice. Pat looked to his side to see Rattle, the snake kwami, hovering next to him.  
"Yep, sure is." Pat said.  
"Yess, it's good to have ssomething to entertain yourssself through your meaninglessss exissstence."  
"Why does everything have to be so morbid with you?"  
"When you've lived on the border of the afterlife as long as I have, it starts to take its toll."  
"Whatever." Pat set Hotwire down on the desk next to Sandrover and opened up his laptop. As he scrolled through his various social media feeds, he suddenly received a notification: AKUMA ALERT! Pat immediately clicked the notification, and was presented with a live helicopter feed of a bullet train barreling through the streets, with Plasticizer standing on top, blasting cars and turning them into toys. The train stopped suddenly, and began to change form.  
"Wow! It's like a real life Metamorpher." Pat said as the train assumed a humanoid shape before resuming its rampage. "Hang on a second." Pat paused the live feed and backed up to midway through the conversion sequence. He zoomed in on an open panel, and saw the letters "TJ" written on the inside. He grabbed Hotwire and opened the door panel back up: both initials were written with the same marker and, by the look of it, the same hand.  
"The akuma... used to own this Hotwire?" Pat said, "Did he not mean to sell it? Cause now I feel kind of bad."  
"Whatever the reason," Rattle said, "he's destroying the city, and you need to help stop him." Pat took a deep breath.  
"You're right. Rattle, fangs out!" Rattle flew into Pat's bracelet, turning it pale green with black diamonds. He ran his hand down his left arm, and a green mesh sleeve with the same pattern appeared over it. He did the same with his other arm, and then with his torso and legs. He slid his hand across his face, and a green snake-like mask appeared. A rattle appeared on his hip, and Sidewinder assumed a fighting stance before leaping out the window.

Sidewinder zipped through the city, using his rattle like a grappling hook, in the direction of the massive train-robot. Before long, he managed to reach the location of the mech. He aimed his rattle at the robot, but was distracted by the sound of screams and moans from the streets below. He looked down to see people lying on the ground next to the massive footprints.  
_Must've been knocked down by the tremors._ He thought. The robot continued to amble forward, not acknowledging Sidewinder behind him. Sidewinder looked back and forth between it and the injured below indecisively, when he suddenly saw a black string wrap around the mech's arm. He followed the string with his eyes, and saw Ladybug flying towards him. She landed next to him on the rooftop.  
"Ladybug!" he said, "I've never been happier to see you."  
"I'll take care of the akuma, you heal the people down below." Ladybug said.  
"Way ahead of you." Sidewinder shot his rattle at the edge of the roof and jumped off, descending with the rope to ground level. He ran over towards the nearest person, who was lying next to the wall with a massive bruise on the back of his head.  
_Wow, that's more extreme than anything I've dealt with before. But if I must._ Sidewinder waved his rattle over the bruise, and the swelling went down some, but not all the way. _This may be a while._

Back on the roof, Ladybug tugged on her yo-yo string, struggling to keep her footing while the giant mech yanked back on it. She dug her heels into the ground, but continued to be pulled forwards despite her efforts. Just as the mech started to pull harder, it was struck in the head by a silver projectile. A black blur flew over Ladybug's head, caught the projectile, and landed next to her.  
"Glad you could make it, kitty." Ladybug said.  
"No problem, m'lady," Cat Noir said, "consider me your little robot slave." Ladybug chuckled.  
"Let's not go that far." Ladybug pulled on her yo-yo string, causing the robot to stumble towards her. Ladybug looked down at the street below, and saw Sidewinder still healing people.  
"Careful, Cat Noir." she said, "There are injured people down there, Sidewinder's trying to heal them."  
"So we can't let him get too close."  
"But not too far away either."  
"Don't worry, I'll handle him." Cat Noir jumped into the air and onto the robot's shoulder. He swung his staff at the robot's head, but it had no effect. The robot turned to look in his direction.  
"Uh oh." Cat Noir said as their eyes met. Suddenly a large missile launcher deployed tip-first from directly under him, pushing him into the air until it fully extended, causing it to drop horizontally.  
"Now you'll see what happens when you challenge the Plasticizer!" came Plasticizer's voice from the mech. Cat clutched tightly onto the rocket as it fired out from the launcher. Once it was in flight, he climbed up to the top of the missile and ran down it's length before jumping off towards the mech. He landed on the top of its head and jumped off onto the rooftop.  
"Did you enjoy the ride?" Ladybug said.  
"Ha ha, very funny. How's Sidewinder doing?" Ladybug peered over the edge of the building.  
"Looks like he's almost done."  
"Good. We could really use a hand right now." Ladybug threw her yo-yo with a sideways hook, and it wrapped around the robot's neck. The robot grabbed its head with its hands, however, and lifted it off of the body. It took a step forward, causing the string to fall away, and reconnected its head at the ball socket joint.  
"So much for that idea." Ladybug said. The mech continued to walk forward, ignoring Ladybug and Cat Noir.  
"He's getting away!" Cat Noir said.  
"Then let's follow him." Ladybug threw her yo-yo and swung off in the direction of the robot.

Back in the street, Sidewinder waved his rattle over a woman's arm, causing a bruise to fade as he gently held her wrist.  
_Careful now,_ he thought as he slowly let go of her wrist. Her arm stayed straight, and no bruising appeared.  
"Thanks so much." she said.  
"No problem." he said, looking around and seeing no one else hurt, "Now I have a train to catch." Sidewinder shot his rattle at the robot's back, but missed, instead hitting a nearby building, which he was then pulled towards. He climbed over to the roof, and saw Ladybug swinging by, followed by Cat Noir vaulting over his staff. Sidewinder continued to zip between buildings, following both them and the robot. He shot his rattle string at the mech, but the robot caught it, and used it to fling him forward. Sidewinder crashed through the window of a comic book store, knocking down a rack of new releases. Ladybug swung through the window and landed in front of him. She extended a hand.  
"Are you okay?" she asked. Sidewinder grabbed her hand and they both pulled him up together.  
"Yeah, I'm fine." he said. He looked around at the store, and saw shelves of statues and secondhand toys, "But not for long."  
"You've gotta be kidding!" Cat shouted from behind them.  
"I wish I was, Cat Noir." Sidewinder said as he turned around, only to find Cat Noir reading a Ladybug and Cat Noir comic book.  
"My jokes are way funnier than that!" Sidewinder rolled his eyes and grabbed the comic out of Cat's hands.  
"Come on, Cat, now is not the time fo-" Sidewinder took a glance at the cover, and immediately flipped through the entire comic, "I'm not in this?! Come on! I'm an important member of the-" Sidewinder closed the comic and set it on the counter, "Right. Concentrate." All three looked out the window and saw the robot walking towards them. It was far away, but closing in fairly quickly.  
"Anyone got any ideas?" Ladybug said.  
"Yeah, I recognize this robot." Sidewinder said.  
"What?"  
"It's Shinkanblast, from the Metamorphers anime."  
"Oh yeah," Cat Noir said, "I can't believe I never noticed."  
"Okay, how do we stop it?" Ladybug asked.  
"Well, in the anime," Sidewinder said, "all the Metamorphers get their power from an energy converter in their chest. We destroy that, we destroy the robot."  
"And how do we do that?"  
"The four buttons on his chest." Cat Noir chimed in, "Press all of them in the space of a minute, the chest armor will detach, and I'll be able to get in there with my Cataclysm." Shinkanblast finally reached the comic book store, and was peering down at the heroes.  
"You've seen Metamorphers?" Sidewinder said.  
"Yeah, I love anime."  
"Cool, me too."  
"Really? Awesome! Remember the episode where Maximu-"  
"Look it's great that you guys are bonding," Ladybug said as Shinkanblast reached the building, "but how do we hit the buttons?"  
"Right. I guess we'll figure that out from here." Sidewinder said as he shot his rattle at the bottom right corner of Shinkanblast's chest, depressing a panel that lit up in purple.  
"Clever." said Plasticizer's voice through the mech, "Glad to see you know your stuff. Too bad I'll crush you before you get a chance to do anymore." Shinkanblast raised his arms and fired his laser cannons at the heroes, who rolled out of the way. Ladybug looked closely at the chestplate, and threw her yo-yo at the top right corner, pressing the second button. She threw her yo-yo at the top left corner, but this time Shinkanblast caught the yo-yo and threw it back at her, knocking her down into Cat Noir, who fell down as well. Ladybug looked over her shoulder at Cat Noir, who had a goofy grin on his face. Ladybug groaned and stood back up. Sidewinder shot his rattle at Shinkanblast's chest, missing the button, but still catching and pulling him towards the chest. Shinkanblast tried to grab him, but with a harder tug on the rope, Sidewinder avoided the massive hand, and used his momentum to press the top left button with his feet before jumping back off. Ladybug raised her yo-yo, but was grabbed by Shinkanblast. She squirmed in the giant metal mitt.  
"Let go of me!" she said before wriggling her right arm out. She brought her arm back to throw her yo-yo, but it slipped out of her grip and flew backwards, hitting Sidewinder in the face.  
"Oops, sorry. Not used to using this hand."  
"Just hit the button!" Sidewinder said. Ladybug pulled her yo-yo back towards her, causing it to strike the chestplate, but not the button. The yo-yo retracted into her hand.  
"Come on!" she said, throwing the yo-yo one more time. This time it hit the button. Shinkanblast's chestplate fell to the ground, revealing the energy converter. "Cat Noir, now!"  
"I'm on it!" he said as he pole vaulted over his staff, "Cataclysm!" Black energy gathered in Cat Noir's right hand, which he then used to touch the converter. The converter sparked and fizzled, and its glow died away. Shinkanblast fell to the ground, and Plasticizer emerged from the robot's mouthplate.  
"Arrg! That was worth at least €50!" Plasticizer growled, "But luckily, I can probably get at least that much for a full set of Ladybug and Cat Noir statuettes!"  
"And Sidewinder! Why does everyone forge-"  
"Shut up, Sidewinder!" Ladybug and Plasticizer said in unison. Plasticizer pumped his blaster. The light mask appeared around his face.  
"Remember, the Miraculous!" Hawk Moth's voice said in Plasticizer's head.  
"But first, I'm going to need something from you." Plasticizer said before blasting two statuettes, one of Majestia, one of an anime character, in the back of the store. The statuettes all came to life, broke free of their bases, and ran over towards the trio. The statuette of Majestia jumped and grabbed Ladybug by the arm, dragging it down as it climbed up and reached for her ear. She tried to shake it off, but its grip was too tight. Sidewinder, however, shot it with his rattle, breaking its hands off at the wrist. The statuette, however, didn't appear deterred, and tried to grab onto Ladybug's arm once again, but failed without its hands. Another statuette, however, grabbed Cat Noir by the hand and grabbed his ring. As the ring slid off his finger, his costume slowly began to disappear from his hand. Ladybug jumped and grabbed both the statuette's and Cat Noir's hands with one hand. She then smashed the statuette's arm with her other hand and removed her hand from Cat's. Cat slid the ring back into place, and his costume reappeared.  
"Phew, that was close." Cat Noir said. Plasticizer growled, and then blasted a model spaceship on the counter, turning it into a full size cruiser. He hopped in the cockpit and flew away, blasting windows as he vanished from sight.  
"I feel so bad for all the children of Paris right now." Sidewinder said. The three heard a beeping noise, and Cat Noir glances at his ring.  
"Oh, I need to recharge." he said, "I'm going in back."  
"Got it." Ladybug said. Cat Noir ran into the back room, while Sidewinder took a seat behind the counter.

Cat Noir shut the door behind him and braced himself against it.  
"Plagg, claws in." he said, and his costume disappeared and he turned into Adrien Agreste, the cat kwami, Plagg, flying out of his ring and landing on a shelf.  
"Boy, am I exhausted." Plagg said as Adrien rummaged through his bag. He took out a metal container and opened it up, pinching his nose to keep out the stink of the Camembert. Plagg immediately jumped up and zipped over to the cheese. He picked up a massive wedge and swallowed it whole.  
"Eat up, Plagg," Adrien said, "they're gonna need us."  
"So, looks like you found an anime buddy." Adrien chuckled.  
"Maybe, we'll see."

"Okay, we need a plan to take this guy down," Ladybug said, "but first we need to figure out what he's up to."  
"I might have some insight." Sidewinder said.  
"Great, what have you got?"  
"When the Metamorpher transformed the first time, I noticed some writing on the inside of one of the panels, the initials TJ."  
"Uh huh."  
"And I saw the same writing on a Metamorpher that I b...saw being sold online. I think that toy used to belong to Plasticizer, but it was somehow sold without him meaning to, and that's what caused him to be akumatized."  
"Makes sense. But what does he want, more toys? That doesn't sound like something to make such a big deal over."  
"I don't know, collectors can be very serious about their hobby."  
"Well, at least it's a start." Ladybug turned on the TV, which was tuned to a news show hosted by Nadja Chamack, and showing helicopter footage of the ship flying around Paris.  
"Continuing our akuma watch," Nadja said, "the Plasticizer, as he refers to himself, seems to be flying some kind of spaceship and firing beams at every toy he passes." The feed switches to various shots of toys travelling through the streets. Cat Noir stepped out of the back and walked up to the TV.  
"Figured out where he is yet?" he said.  
"Not yet." Ladybug said. Cat Noir looked closer at the screen, his eyes following the toys as they appear.  
"They seem to be heading towards the 2nd arrondissement." Cat Noir said.  
"What?" Sidewinder said, "How do you know that?"  
"I've learned my way around the city."  
"Got anything more than that?" Ladybug asked.  
"Sorry, m'lady, that's the best I can do."  
"The 2nd arrondissement," Ladybug said, "what could he be after in the 2nd arrondisse- the toy store!"  
"Toy store?" Sidewinder said.  
"The largest toy store in Paris is in the 2nd arrondissement." Cat Noir explained, "He could conquer Paris with the action figure isle alone!"  
"Oh, that's bad." Sidewinder said.  
"That's putting it lightly." Ladybug said, "We have to stop him." Ladybug threw her yo-yo out the window and swung out, followed shortly after by the other two heroes.

Ladybug, Cat Noir and Sidewinder burst through the front door of the toy store.  
"Okay, here's the plan." Ladybug whispered, "We'll sneak up on him, then Sidewinder will use his rattle to grab the blaster, Cat Noir will use his Cataclysm on it, and I'll catch the akuma."  
"Right." Sidewinder and Cat Noir whispered at the same time.  
"You can try," shouted a staticy voice, "but it's not gonna be easy." Ladybug looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a walkie-talkie lying on the floor next to them.  
"Crud." Ladybug said as three toy tanks drove up to them. They raised their turrets and fired laser blasts at them. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at one of the tanks, breaking it and stopping the fire. Cat Noir and Sidewinder followed suit, destroying the tanks with their staff and rattle, respectively.  
"Let's move!" Ladybug said. The three of them charged down one of the aisles, only to find their path blocked by a wall of building bricks. Sidewinder shot his rattle at the wall, but it didn't budge.  
"Seriously?" he said. Suddenly there was a loud thud, and Sidewinder turned to see one of the brick sets was on the floor, and was making a bunch of banging sounds. Finally the box burst open, and all the bricks flew out and assembled into a massive fist, which struck Sidewinder and knocked him into a wall of shelves. The hand then opened and grabbed Ladybug. Cat Noir chased after the flying hand, but suddenly tripped and fell. Sidewinder stood up and regained his footing, still disoriented from the punch.  
"What did I just trip on?" Cat Noir asked.  
"A rubber ball." Sidewinder said as he stumbled forward.  
"What? How did that get there?" Cat Noir said as the ball rolled off into the distance without being touched.  
"I'm not even gonna ask." Sidewinder said, "For now we need to find Ladybug."  
"Right." Cat Noir held his staff upright and extended it, giving him a better view of the store, "Looks like she's in the role-play accessory aisle."  
"She in trouble?"  
"Doesn't look like it."  
"Good. Let's go."  
"Right." Sidewinder ran to the role-play aisle, while Cat retracted his staff and leapt over. The two found Ladybug, sitting on the floor, and seeming a little dazed.  
"You alright, Bugaboo?" Cat Noir asked.  
"Stop calling me that." Ladybug said.  
"She's fine."  
"Good." Sidewinder said, "Now how are we going to get to Plasticizer without getting ourselves killed by a Stacy doll or something dumb like that?"  
"Well first we need to figure out where he is." Ladybug said.  
"You're right." Sidewinder said, "Cat Noir, did you happen to see Plasticizer while you were looking for Ladybug?"  
"Let's see, I wasn't really looking but... actually, I think I did see him, in the back with the action figures."  
"Okay, let's get him." Ladybug said before standing up and walking towards the back of the store.  
"Wait." Sidewinder said, and he grabbed two laser swords and a dart gun of the shelf. He handed the swords to Ladybug and Cat Noir.  
"No offense, Sidewinder," Cat Noir said, "but I doubt that foam darts and plastic swords will do much to stop him."  
"Don't worry, I have an idea."  
"Oh, I think I see where you're going with this." Ladybug said.  
"Oookay, I guess I'll just take your word." Cat Noir said before running off towards the back of the store.

Plasticizer stood patiently, surrounded by a circle of action figures. Ladybug, Cat Noir and Sidewinder all charged towards him and assumed a fighting stance.  
"Game's over, Plasticizer." Ladybug said.  
"Not just yet." Plasticizer said as he blasted the action figures around him. Ladybug ran towards him, and swung her sword into one of the beams. The sword transformed from a bulky piece of plastic into a real laser sword.  
"Oh, I get it." Cat Noir said. Ladybug swung her sword at Plasticizer, knocking the blaster out of his hand. They both dived for the gun, but one of the action figures grabbed Ladybug by the leg and threw her into Cat Noir. Plasticizer picked up the gun and aimed at Ladybug's sword. Sidewinder jumped in front of her, however, and presented his dart gun to the beam. Now armed with a real laser cannon, Sidewinder blasted Plasticizer, but he ducked and avoided it. Plasticizer returned fire, but Cat Noir jumped in the way and swung his sword into the beam. He ran towards Plasticizer, but was hit by a rocket from a soldier toy, knocking him backwards. Sidewinder fired more shots at Plasticizer, who dodged them all.  
"Get them!" Plasticizer said, pointing at the trio. The action figures all charged towards them. Ladybug and Cat Noir swung their swords at them, taking a good number of them down, but they kept coming.  
"Sidewinder, get Plasticizer!" Ladybug said.  
"Right." Sidewinder said before firing at Plasticizer. He missed. Plasticizer fired back, and hit Sidewinder's blaster, turning it back into a harmless dart gun.  
"Guys," Sidewinder said, "tell me you're doing alright." Sidewinder looked around and saw dismembered action figures all around him. "Okay, good."  
"Arrg!" Plasticizer said, "this isn't over yet!" Plasticizer fired his blaster into an aisle, and a walker toy came towards him. He blasted it again, and it grew to full size, and he climbed up into it, tossing aside the plastic pilot. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the walker, but it jumped and dodged the yo-yo.  
"Sidewinder," she said, "this seem familiar to you?"  
"No, haven't seen whatever this is from. Cat?"  
"No clue. Got a plan B?"  
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled as she threw her yo-yo into the air, and a red and black toy plane materialized.  
"Look at that, free ammunition for Plasticizer." Cat Noir snarked as the walker approached.  
"Hang on," Sidewinder said, "that looks a bit like Max Katana, a rare Metamorpher that only came out in Jap-"  
"Now's not the time, Sidewinder!" Cat Noir said.  
"Hang on, that could be useful." Ladybug said as she formulated an idea, "Hey, Plasticizer, I have something for you!" Ladybug threw the jet towards Plasticizer.  
"Max Katana?!" Plasticizer said. He tried to catch the plane out of the air with his hands, but Ladybug wrapped the walker's legs with her yo-yo string. She pulled on the string and the robot collapsed, causing Plasticizer to drop his gun. Ladybug grabbed it, and broke the barrel over her knee, releasing the akuma.  
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma," she said as she opened her yo-yo and started spinning it, "time to de-evilize!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the akuma, capturing it in the pool of pink energy. "Gotcha!" Ladybug opened the yo-yo back up, releasing the purified butterfly.  
"Bye bye, little butterfly." she said, waving at the butterfly as it flew away. She picked up the toy jet, and tossed it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" The plane broke apart into a bunch of ladybugs, which flew around the store repairing all the shelves and broken toys, which were put back in their boxes and on the shelves. They then went back out into the city, repairing the comic book store and the streets. Plasticizer's armor disappeared, leaving Tyler lying on the floor.  
"Where am I?" he said.  
"Pound it!" the heroes said all at once as they bumped fists. Sidewinder glances over at Tyler, as if he recognizes him.

"Curse you, Ladybug and Cat Noir!" Hawk Moth shouted from his lair, "And you too, Sidewinder! You may have bested me this time, but some day, all of you will be nothing more than my playthings!" Hawk Moth's window irised shut.

The next day, Pat was walking up the stairs when he saw Tyler walking along the balcony.  
"Hey." Pat said as he raced up the stairs and intercepted Tyler, "It's Tyler, right?"  
"Uh, yeah." Tyler said.  
"Hey, listen, I saw on the news what happened, you know, with the..."  
"Yeah." Tyler said as he looked off to the side.  
"Well, I saw the initials on your Shinkanblast, and, well, I also saw them on this." Pat took a bubble-wrapped Hotwire out of the bag, and presented it to Tyler.  
"My Hotwire?"  
"Yeah, I felt kind of bad, like you didn't actually want to sell this, so I figured..." Tyler gently grabbed Hotwire out of Pat's hands, and looked intently at the blue car.  
"Thanks... but no thanks." Tyler handed Hotwire back to Pat, "I've decided it's time I let go."  
"You know, it's okay to hold onto some of your nostalgia, as long as you don't let it go too far. I bought this on impulse, because I was feeling homesick. I don't need this, really. Here."  
"No, really. I have tons more Metamorphers at my house. It's not like by letting you have this, I'm giving up on Metamorphers completely. You keep Hotwire, you paid good money for him, and you hold onto _your_ nostalgia."  
"Thanks, Tyler." Pat put Hotwire in his bag, "I gotta get to class."  
"Yeah, me too."  
"See you around?"  
"We'll see." Pat and Tyler part ways, both smiling.


	5. Evillustrator

It was a fairly typical afternoon for Pat. The students had been let out of school for their lunch break, and he was walking across the street to the Place des Vosges, where he sat down on a bench and unpacked his lunch bag. As he began eating his tuna salad sandwich, Nathaniel came over and sat down next to him.  
"Hey, Nath." Pat said.  
"Hi, Pat." Nathaniel said.  
"What's going on?" Pat asked.  
"Not much really, you?" Nathaniel replied.  
"Oh, just having myself some lunch. Want a chip?" Pat said as he grabbed a potato chip from his bag and held it out to Nathaniel.  
"No thanks, I don't like barbecue chips." Nathaniel said.  
"Okay then." Pat ate the chip and finished off his sandwich. He looked around the park, taking in the view when he saw Marinette and Alya strolling in.  
"Hey, there she is." Pat whispered to Nathaniel, subtly gesturing towards Marinette. Nathaniel looked up and instantly shrank. The subtle movement caught Alya's attention.  
"Hey, guys." she said as she walked over.  
"Hi." Pat said before nudging Nathaniel.  
"Oh, uh, hi... Marinette." Nathaniel said.  
"Uh, hi, Nathan." Marinette said awkwardly before sitting down on the ground, "You two have lunch yet?"  
"I have," Pat said, "I don't know about Nath."  
"I'm not hungry." Nathaniel explained, "I might grab something later."  
"What about you?" Pat said.  
"Oh, Alya took me to this Caribbean place not far from here." Marinette said, "It was really good."  
"Cool, maybe I should check it out sometime." Pat said, "I've never had Caribbean food before."  
"You should." Alya said. Suddenly Marinette's eyes darted off to the side, causing Pat to look in the same direction. He saw Adrien walking towards them along the footpath behind him.  
"Hey, Marinette." he said, causing Marinette to wave her hand erratically while giggling awkwardly. Once Adrien was out of sight, Marinette took a deep breath and regained her composure.  
"Excuse me for a moment." Nathaniel said as he got up and walked away.  
"I'm gonna head back into the building. You coming, Marinette?" Alya asked.  
"I'll catch up." Marinette said as Alya moved towards the school. Pat looked at Marinette, a knowing grin on his face.  
"Adrien's kind of cool, huh?" Pat teased.  
"Oh, uh, well, um, I, guess?" Marinette stammered.  
"Come on, I saw the way you looked at him." Pat said.  
"Okay, yeah," Marinette sighed, "I kind of like him. It's just..."  
"Embarassing?" Pat asked.  
"Yeah." she said.  
"I've been there." Pat said, "You get all worked up about what people will think if you tell them, so you kind of just bottle it up and hope no one notices."  
"Yeah." she said.  
"Well, trust me, you're overthinking it." Pat said, "Sometimes you gotta just go for it. Pick a day, freshen up if you think you need to, bite the bullet and, you get the idea."  
"Have you ever gone for it?" Marinette's question was followed by a deafening silence. "Yeah, that's what I thought."  
"You're right, I've never gone for it. But do you know what happens if you don't? I do." Pat stopped to take a deep breath, "Sorry, I'm getting a little worked up."  
"It's okay." Marinette said, "Maybe you're right. It's just... words don't seem to work for me. They haven't ever since he gave me his umbrella that day at the start of the year."  
"Well, maybe you don't need words. You could give him something."  
"I’ve already tried that. I made him a scarf for his birthday, but I forgot to sign it and he thought it was from his dad”, she mumbled, tapping the ground with the tips of her foot. “Made him a hat for Christmas, a supervillain destroyed it. Wrote him a card for Valentine's Day, I forgot to sign that too! I’m just way too clumsy and forgettable when it comes to things like these!”  
"Maybe those just weren't the right gifts." Pat suggested, "Maybe you should give him something that... means something. Not that those weren't thoughtful gifts or anything, I just mean-"  
"No, I get what you mean." Marinette said before perking up, "Oh, I know. I'll make an umbrella, just for him!"  
"Perfect!" Pat said, "I love it."  
"Thanks." Marinette said, "Except, I don't know how to make an umbrella."  
"Well if you want, I can help with that."  
"Really?" she said.  
"Well I did earn high marks in shop class back in America," Pat explained, "and I designed some props for school plays."  
"Thanks, Pat." Marinette said before giving Pat a hug, "It'll be perfect, and Adrien will see just how much I love him."  
"You're in love with Adrien?" A familiar voice said behind them. Pat turned to see Nathaniel standing by a tree.  
"Oh, Nathaniel." Pat said, "Uh, how long have you been standing there?"  
"About since Marinette started rattling off the gifts she gave him." Nathaniel sighed, and Pat noticed a touch of anger in his voice. "Forget about me, I'll leave you alone." Nathaniel turned around and walked away. Pat ran after him.  
"Nath, wait." Pat said.  
"Don't bother, Pat." Nathaniel growled, "You obviously care more about how she feels than me."  
"Nathaniel, it's not like that." Pat pleaded, "I just got caught up in all of it and just-"  
"Forgot?" Nathaniel shouted, "After all that prodding, all that nudging to get me to talk to her, you suddenly just forget how much I like her when it turns out she likes someone else?" Pat is silent.  
"That's what I thought." Nathaniel said before storming off. Pat clenched his fists, but took a deep breath and released them. He went back to Marinette.  
"Sorry you had to see that." Pat said.  
"It's okay." Marinette said, "We should just get to class."  
"You're right." Pat slung his backpack over his shoulders and walked into the building.

After sitting next to Nathaniel for another tense hour, class was finally dismissed. Nathaniel exited the room without a word, while Pat approached Marinette.  
"Hey, Marinette." he said, "I'm gonna stop by the hardware store and pick up some stuff for the umbrella."  
"You sure?" Marinette asked, "After what happened with Nathaniel?"  
"Trust me, I'll never let anyone stop me from helping a friend." Pat said.  
"Okay." Marinette said, "But promise me that you're not doing this just because you're mad at him."  
"I promise." Pat said.

Nathaniel stormed along the balcony around the courtyard, clutching his sketchpad to his chest. Adrien walked past him.  
"Hey, Nathan." he said, to which Nathaniel responded by speeding off, "What's his deal?" Nathaniel raced down the stairs into the locker room, where he slumped against the metal boxes. He growled and cried simultaneously as he started tearing pages from his sketchbook.

Hawk Moth stood in his darkened lair, smiling at the familiar sensation of a sad, frustrated soul. He tapped his cane on the floor, causing a massive window to iris open.  
"It appears our artist friend has had his heart broken once again." he said, "Perhaps I should let him paint me another picture, and this time his hand won't slip!" A butterfly landed in Hawk Moth's hand and he clasped it in his hands. The butterfly turned black and flew out the window.  
"Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize him!"

The black butterfly phased through the window of the locker room and landed on the drawing pencil nestled between the sketchbook pages. Nathaniel felt a familiar chill run up his arm and through his spine as a butterfly-shaped light mask appeared around his eyes.  
"Welcome back into my gallery, Evillustrator." Hawk Moth's voice said in Nathaniel's head. "Your friend has betrayed you, and the woman you love has rejected you. All great art is born from pain, however, and your work is still among the greatest in my collection. That is why I am giving you another chance to complete your mission. Bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous, or else you may never feel this power again."  
"It's a deal, Hawk Moth." Nathaniel said as a cloud of smoke emerged from the pencil and enveloped his entire body.

Pat stepped out of the hardware store, carrying a bag full of metal stock in various sizes. He took out his phone and typed "Got the metal. Gonna start the umbrella when I get home." He sent the message to Marinette, who responded with a thumbs up emoji. Pat tucked the phone away into his pocket, taking his eyes off the path for less than a second, but still he walked into a wall.  
_Note to self,_ he thought, _"Don't text and walk"_ He looked up in front of him, but saw that he was still looking straight down the sidewalk, and nothing appeared in his path at first. He put his hand up in front of him, and felt an invisible barrier, as if a wall of glass just appeared in front of him. _Weird,_ he thought as he stepped to the side, only to find the same glass wall beside him. A cautious step backwards revealed another glass wall behind him, the wall of the building to his right completing his miniature prison. Pat's gaze darted around him in a panic, until he caught sight of a blue figure in a black and white striped costume standing on a nearby rooftop. He placed his stylus to his tablet and a blue surfboard with jet engines on the rear appeared hovering just beyond the building edge. The blue man jumped onto the board and rode it to ground level, where Pat was finally able to identify the figure.  
"Nath?!" he cried.  
"'Nath' is gone, you drove him away. All that's left is me, the Evillustrator!" The Evillustrator put his stylus to his tablet and drew a blue umbrella with a spiked tip, which appeared in his hand. He erased a small hole in the glass box, chest high to Pat, who was now pressing himself against the back corner of the box. The Evillustrator inserted the umbrella into the hole, when suddenly a loud noise came from a short distance away.  
"FREEZE!" a heavyset officer shouted through his megaphone, distracting the Evillustrator, "PUT DOWN THE WEAPON AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!" Pat took advantage of the distraction and grabbed onto the umbrella, pushing it back out the hole, causing the Evillustrator to stumble back. Rattle poked his head out the side of Pat's t-shirt collar.  
"Pat, you need to transssform!" the snake kwami hissed.  
"I can't!" Pat whispered, "Everyone can see me here. The only thing I can do is hope that the police can handle this, or that Ladybug shows up."

Meanwhile, Marinette sat in her bedroom, stitching together two pieces of vinyl while a music program played on her TV. Suddenly, however, the Jagged Stone song was cut off by the voice of Nadja Chamack.  
"We interrupt this program to bring you an important news bulletin." Nadja said, "An akumatized villain is on a rampage on Rue Lefevre." live B-roll of the incident appeared on the screen, and Marinette looked up from her sewing. "It appears that the villain has taken a teenage boy hostage."  
_That's Pat!_ Marinette thought, _and is that the Evillustrator?  
_"Tikki!" Marinette called out, causing the red and black ladybug kwami to fly out from her purse and in front of her, "Nathaniel was reakumatized, and now Pat's in trouble."  
"Ready when you are." Tikki said.  
"Tikki, spots on!" Tikki flew into Marinette's earrings, turning them red with black spots. Marinette ran her hands across her eyes, and a red and black mask appeared over her face. She whipped her arms out, and identically patterned sleeves appeared on them. The same mesh fabric appeared on the rest of her body, followed by a yo-yo tied around her waist, sitting on her hip. Ladybug struck a pose and leaped out through the window.

"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING," the officer said to the Evillustrator, "RELEASE THE BOY OR WE'LL BE FORCED TO SHOOT!"  
"Go on then." the Evillustrator said tauntingly. The officer made a hand gesture, and the police fired on the Evillustrator. The Evillustrator, however, drew a rectangle on his tablet, which appeared as a blue shield on his arm and absorbed all the gunshots. The Evillustrator then proceeded to erase the guns from the officers' hands, and caused them to panic and retreat. The Evillustrator then turned back to Pat.  
"Now, where were we?" The Evillustrator raised the spiked umbrella again, only for it to get tied up in a black string and yanked out of his hand. Both looked up and saw Ladybug standing on a rooftop.  
"Ladybug," The Evillustrator said, "so glad you could make it. I believe you have something that belongs to my patron."  
"If he wants it, he'll have to come get it himself." Ladybug said before she threw her yo-yo at a light post. The string wrapped around, and she swung down feet-first into the Evillustrator, knocking him to the ground before executing a three-point landing.  
"Hang in there, I'll get you out!" Ladybug shouted at Pat before throwing her yo-yo. The Evillustrator, however, drew a glass shield in front of him, deflecting the yo-yo before disappearing. He then drew several saw blades and shot them all at Ladybug, who barely managed to dodge all of them. The Evillustrator drew several blue spikes, all pointed at Ladybug. They flew towards her, but suddenly they were all swatted away by a silver staff. Cat Noir stood in front of Ladybug, extended staff in hand.  
"Sketchy guy is back, I see." Cat Noir said, "Looks like Hawk Moth's running out of ideas."  
"Let's not waste our time fighting." Evillustrator said, "Hand over your Miraculous so I can get this overwith."  
"You'll have to rip it from my cold, dead paws."  
"Suit yourself." The Evillustrator placed his pen to his tablet, "What's that they say about cats and water?" Evillustrator glances off to his left, Cat Noir's right, and Cat Noir followed his gaze to a fire hydrant. The cap of the hydrant disappears, and Cat Noir is knocked back by the subsequent blast of water. Ladybug threw her yo-yo in his direction. Cat Noir grabbed the yo-yo and Ladybug reeled him in.  
"You hold off the Evillustrator," she said, "I'll go help Pat."  
"Right." Cat Noir said before vaulting over the jet of water. Ladybug ran over to the glass box, where Pat sat scrunched up in the corner.  
"Don't worry, Pat. I'll help you get out of there." she said as she inspected the box. She felt around the box, and felt a slight seam in between the glass and the building wall.  
"Bingo." Ladybug said as she stepped away from the wall, "Heads up!" she lobbed her yo-yo through the hole in the glass. Pat just barely dodged the red and black spotted projectile, which settled down on the ground in front of him.  
"Grab on!" Ladybug said, and Pat obliged without hesitation. Ladybug pulled on the string, and Pat braced his feet against the glass wall. The box slid forward, and Pat was freed. He let go of the yo-yo.  
"Thanks so much, Ladybug." Pat said, "That could've been terrible."  
"Just get yourself to safety." Ladybug said before running back to the battle. Pat ran away before ducking into an alley, where Rattle emerged from his collar.  
"Now can we transssform?" he hissed.  
"Of course. Rattle, fangs out!" Pat slid up his sleeve, revealing a green bracelet on his right wrist. Rattle slithered through the air before circling around the bracelet and phasing into it, causing the bracelet to transform into a diamond-backed Ouroboros. Pat slid his right hand down his face, creating a green mesh mask. He slid his hand down his left arm, causing a similar sleeve to appear. He repeated on the other side, and slid both hands down his chest, and a green suit with black diamonds appeared all over his body, followed by a rattle on his hip. He flicked his forked tongue past his fangs, and assumed a fighting stance, now the superhero Sidewinder.

Evillustrator sketched a saw blade in two-tone blue and launched it at the two heroes, but Cat Noir deflected it with his staff.  
"You're very tough." the Evillustrator said, "But I've been practicing more advanced techniques, so let's see if you can handle that." The Evillustrator drew for several moments, and suddenly a large snake creature emerged from a sewer drain, almost ten feet long, deep blue with pale blue spikes along the back. The creature lunged at Ladybug and Cat Noir, but suddenly got tied up in a rope with large green blocks. Its head was pulled back as Sidewinder shot onto the monster's back.  
"Sorry, man," he said, "but there's only room for one slithery boy in this city." Sidewinder did a backflip off the monster, flipping it belly-up. The creature wriggled and squirmed, and chomped at Sidewinder, but with a flick of the rattle's trigger, the snake's head was sliced off. Mercifully, it had no insides to spill. Sidewinder then set his sights on the Evillustrator, and charged towards him. He grabbed for the pencil, but his wrist was caught in the Evillustrator's superhuman grip.  
"Nathaniel, snap out of this!" Sidewinder said, "I know deep down, that there's still some good in you."  
"Sorry," the Evillustrator said, "all the good I had left has been drained away." The Evillustrator punched Sidewinder into a wall, leaving a small crater. He strutted towards Sidewinder, and grabbed for his wrist. "Now to get you out of our hair, snake boy." He reached for the bracelet, but suddenly was struck in the head by Ladybug's yo-yo. Cat Noir then leaped towards him and smacked him to the ground, his staff embedding in the pavement at an angle that prevented the Evillustrator from raising his head.  
"Got it from here, m'lady?" Cat Noir said.  
"Nothing left but to grab his pencil." Ladybug replied. The Evillustrator, however, managed to make one last scribble, erasing the pavement from underneath him and causing him to fall onto a waiting hoverboard.  
"Looks like we've got some more work to do." Cat Noir said.  
"Sidewinder, did you happen to see if Pat made it out safely?" Ladybug asked.  
"Uh, yeah." Sidewinder stammered, "I saw him, uh, going down into a metro station. Must've caught a train home."  
"That's good to hear. But we can't just leave him unprotected. I know where he lives, I'll keep an eye on him."  
"No, no, you don't have to do that." Sidewinder said, "I'll make sure he's safe."  
"Sidewinder, I get it. He's your friend, you want to personally see to it he's OK, right?"  
"Wh-yeah."  
"But don't worry, he'll be in good hands. Unless of course, there's something you're not telling us?" Ladybug winked at Sidewinder, causing him to laugh nervously for a split-second, which then transitioned into a bout of full laughter. "That's what I thought. I'm off to Pat's." Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the distance and swung away.  
"I should get going, too." Sidewinder said quickly before shooting his rattle into the distance and shooting away.

Sidewinder touched down in an alleyway two blocks down from his house. He transformed back to Pat and walked the rest of the way to his home, carrying the bag of metal parts. He stepped through the door and saw his host father Abram sitting at the kitchen table.  
"Pat!" he said, "I saw it on the news. You alright?"  
"I'm fine, thanks to Ladybug and Cat Noir." Pat said.  
"Thank heaven for those two, and their snake friend, too." Abram stood up and gave Pat a hug. He glanced down at the bag of parts, "New project?"  
"Yeah, making something for a friend." Pat explained.  
"You're a good friend, Pat. You know where everything is in the garage still?"  
"Unless you rearranged it again." Pat and Abram both chuckled, and Pat walked up the stairs to his bedroom door. Rattle poked his head out of his collar.  
"I hope you ssstill have some pomegranate ssseeds," he said, "I'm ssstarved."  
"Don't worry, there's still plenty in the fridge downstairs." Pat said as he opened the door, "Just gonna get settled back in and-" Pat glanced up from the doorknob and saw Ladybug standing by the open window. Rattle instantly pulled his head back down into the collar, just before Ladybug could notice him.  
"Ladybug!" Pat said, "What are you doing here?"  
"The Evillustrator may come after you again." Ladybug explained, "I'm here to make sure that when he does, he doesn't hurt you."  
"Oh, thanks." Pat said, "I'm just gonna run down to the garage, got some work to do."  
"No, Pat, I can't let you out of my sight."  
"Oh, alright." Pat groaned as he flopped onto his bed and picked up the blue robot toy on his desk, "I'll stay in here for a while."

Cat Noir vaulted over his staff and flew through an open window in the back of Agreste Mansion.  
"Claws in." he said after touching down, and his costume disappeared and his hair tidied up, now assuming the form of Adrien Agreste. He walked up to his piano and pressed pause on the docked smartphone, stopping the piano track that was playing. As he removed the phone from the dock, a black cat kwami flew out from his jacket inside pocket and towards an open tin of Camembert cheese.  
"Finally," said Plagg, "I'm starving!"  
"Don't get too comfortable, Plagg." Adrien said, "Evillustrator is still out there, and we need to be ready if something happens." Adrien closed the window with a remote control, not noticing the blue man standing on the roof across the way.

Pat lied on his bed, playing a brick breaker game on his phone, while Ladybug sat on the windowsill, gazing out into the distance. Before long, Pat got bored and set his phone down.  
"Hey, can I ask you a question?".  
"Shoot." Ladybug replied.  
"You ever feel like... it's all your fault something goes wrong?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Like, for example, you do something that upsets someone, and they get akumatized."  
"More than I'd like to admit."  
"How do you deal with it?"  
"Well, first and foremost, I catch the akuma and turn the person back to normal."  
"Then what?"  
"Well, that's more of a case-by-case thing. I usually start by apologizing, that at least helps most of the time."  
"And if that doesn't work?"  
"Pat, why are you asking me all this?"  
"It's just that... Nathaniel was my friend, but then I hurt his feelings, and now he's out on a rampage."  
"Don't be too hard on yourself. Remember, if it weren't for Hawk Moth, none of this would be happening, and Nathaniel would just be having a bad day."  
"I suppose you're right."

Adrien sat on his piano bench, scrolling through a social feed, when suddenly he heard a hum outside his window. He turned and saw the Evillustrator hovering outside. He put his pencil to the tablet, and erased the glass from the window. Adrien bolted for the door, but the Evillustrator erased it and drew a wall in its place.  
"Nowhere to run, pretty boy." the Evillustrator said before he shot a wall of spikes at Adrien, who rolled out of the way and landed in a crouch.

Ladybug's yo-yo started beeping, startling both her and Pat.  
"What's going on?" Pat asked as Ladybug took out her yo-yo. She pressed a button and the two halves slid open, revealing a screen.  
"Trouble at the Agreste Mansion." Ladybug explained.  
"Evillustrator? But why would he attack there instead of-" Pat was cut off by a sudden realization, "Oh no."  
"What?" Ladybug asked.  
"The thing that made Nathaniel mad was that I tried to help his crush win over another guy, Adrien Agreste." Ladybug's eyes widened in shock, not at Pat's explanation, but at the realization she now had as well.  
"And now he's gonna try and get him out of the way. I gotta stop him." Ladybug threw her yo-yo out the window.  
"Don't you need to protect me." Pat asked.  
"Evillustrator's focus has switched, now Adrien's the one in danger. Consider yourself off the hook for now." Ladybug swung away. Rattle poked his head out out Pat's collar.  
"Finally." he said.  
"Let's go, Rattle." Pat said, "Fangs out!"

"Evillustrator!" shouted the voice in Evillustrator's head as a saw blade embedded itself in Adrien's wall, "What are you doing?"  
"Getting him out of my way." The Evillustrator replied.  
"You're letting yourself get distracted. You're not going to forget your mission again, are you?"  
"Rest assured, Hawk Moth, I'll collect the Miraculous once I'm done with this." Hawk Moth growled at the Evillustrator's words, and the Evillustrator experienced a piercing pain in his hand, causing him to drop his pencil. The Evillustrator gritted his teeth, however, and picked it back up.  
"Get away from him, Evillustrator." a voice came from behind him. The Evillustrator turned around and saw Ladybug standing on the roof, silhouetted by the setting sun. She jumped off and threw her yo-yo, and swung down towards the open window.  
"I'll get to you in due time, Ladybug." the Evillustrator said as he drew a rectangle on his tablet, filling the window back in and causing Ladybug to slam into strengthened glass. She kicked the window, but it had no effect.  
"Come on, break!" she said as she continued to kick the glass.  
"You'll never break it like that." came a voice from behind her before a green block with fang-like grappling hooks embedded itself into the roof above her. Sidewinder swung from the string and came down next to Ladybug.  
"What do you mean?"  
"This is four inch ballistic glass, you'll need more force than even a super-kick."  
"How do you know?"  
"I've done my research on this place before coming."  
"How did you even know we'd be here?"  
"Through the grapevine."  
"Whatever, how do we get in?" Ladybug asked as she watched Adrien avoid Evillustrator's attacks.  
"Hang on, I have an idea." Sidewinder pushed off the window with his legs, swinging back a solid 45 degrees, before swinging back down and striking the glass with his feet. The glass doesn't break, and instead Sidewinder contorts his face in pain.  
"Where did this idea come from again?" Ladybug asked.  
"I saw it in a movie once." Sidewinder groaned, "But don't worry, I'm fine." Sidewinder took a few deep breaths and pushed himself out again, further this time. He swung back down from a 60 degree angle, creating a small crack in the glass.  
"You're sure you're alright?" Ladybug asked.  
"I'll manage." Sidewinder said, "At the very least, it'd be a lot worse if I didn't have my super suit." He ran his hand over his legs, "Nothing feels broken or anything, but just to be safe..." Sidewinder pushed himself off the wall and released his grappling hook, landing back on the rooftop. He retracted his rattle and waved it over his legs, and the pain ceased. Sidewinder took a few steps back before jumping and shooting his rattle straight forward at the mansion roof. He swung down and struck the window with his legs, finally breaking through the window and landing inside Adrien's bedroom, Ladybug close behind.  
"Evillustrator, seize her Miraculous now, or I will remove your powers!" Hawk Moth said.  
"It doesn't have to be like this," Sidewinder said, "you still have time to back down."  
"Sorry, I don't give up that easily." the Evillustrator said as he erased the floor beneath the two heroes. Sidewinder raised his rattle towards the ceiling and fired the end at a light, breaking the bulb and dimming the room. He did the same for all the other ceiling lights until the only light left was from the sun, just above the horizon.  
"I did some reading." Sidewinder said before extending his rattle into a saber. He charged at the Evillustrator, who retaliated by drawing a bar at ankle height. Sidewinder tripped, dropping his saber as he fell. He reached to grab it, but his hand was blocked by a sword, constructed of a basic isosceles triangle and rectangle, but still very sharp-looking. Sidewinder looked up and saw the Evillustrator holding onto the sword, smiling.  
"Not so tough now, huh?" he said. Sidewinder looked back at the rattle, his arm still outstretched, and he squinted. Nothing happens at first, but then the shaft starts wiggling. Sidewinder tightened his gaze and started subtly moving his fingers, while the Evillustrator raised his sword up for an attack. Suddenly the shaft of the rattle-saber softened, and it slithered like a snake towards Sidewinder. It wrapped around his arm and deposited the handle into his hand. With a flick of the trigger, the rattle assumed its saber configuration, and Sidewinder thrust it at the Evillustrator, who blocked it with his own sword. Evillustrator counterattacked, but Sidewinder deflected it, knocking the sword out of his hand. The Evillustrator went for the sword, but Sidewinder smashed it with his rattle. Adrien watched the battle unfold from the sidelines. His eyes landed on a lever on the wall.  
"I may not be able to transform," he whispered, "but I can still help." Adrien ran over to the lever and pulled it down. Metal shutters came down over the windows, blocking out all the sunlight, and rendering the room pitch black. Adrien continued running all the way to the bathroom, while the Evillustrator's eyes darted around the room.  
"What the heck?" the Evillustrator said before getting struck in the face by Sidewinder's rattle. "How did you-"  
"Same way any snake finds his prey." Sidewinder said, flicking his tongue, "I can sense the heat of your body, and smell you a mile away."  
"Impressive," the Evillustrator said, "too bad the dark won't give you any advantage this time." The Evillustrator snapped his fingers and his face was lit from below by a pale blue light emanating from his tablet. He then started drawing again.  
"Now sense this!" he said before swiping his pencil up on the tablet. Sidewinder dodged instinctively, and heard something whizzing past him.  
"Ladybug, be careful!" Sidewinder shouted, and soon a glowing red disc appeared in the darkness, followed by the sound of metal being ground away. Sidewinder turned back to the Evillustrator, his yellow orange silhouette prominent against the blue background. Before he could move, however, he was distracted by a muffled voice.  
"Ctclsm" it muffled, followed by the sound of wood cracking. Sidewinder's eyes darted in the noise's direction, and he saw Cat Noir's orange silhouette standing beside a large hole in the wall, where the door once stood. Cat Noir ran towards the Evillustrator, dodging and swatting projectiles invisible to Sidewinder before he finally struck the Evillustrator with his staff. Sidewinder ran around to the Evillustrator's side, only to feel the pressure of three spikes against his chest, mercifully stopped by his costume.  
"I may not be able to see you, but I can hear your every footfall." the Evillustrator said before catching Cat Noir's punch and throwing him off to the side. Cat looked at his ring: three toes were gone.  
"Ladybug," Cat Noir said, "I know you can't see much, but can you lend a hand?" Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air.  
"Lucky Charm!" she shouted as a swarm of glowing pink ladybugs flew out from the yo-yo, reconvening just above before a basketball fell into her hands, "A basketball?" she asked before glancing around the room, using the light from Cat Noir's makeshift door to see. She took notice of the two arcade cabinets, the basketball hoop, and the scoreboard.  
"Cat Noir, catch!" Ladybug said as she tossed the ball towards him.  
"What do I do with this?" he asked.  
"Toss it into that basketball hoop."  
"Is that really a priority right now?" he said as he rolled to avoid a saw blade.  
"Just trust me!" Cat Noir reluctantly tossed the ball towards the hoop, and as it went through, a loud buzz came from the scoreboard, distracting the Evillustrator long enough for Sidewinder to land a hit.  
"Oh, I get it." Cat Noir said.  
"Sidewinder, the arcade cabinets!" Ladybug said.  
"Right." Sidewinder said before shooting his rattle at the button on one of Adrien's arcade machines, still glowing with residual body heat. The screen lit up and a loud chip tune played from its speaker. He repeated for the other cabinet. Cat Noir, meanwhile, kept sinking baskets, causing the scoreboard to continue buzzing.  
"Be quiet, will you?" the Evillustrator shouted over the sounds.  
"It's working!" Ladybug said, "Keep the noises up. I'll take care of him." Sidewinder leaped over to the arcade cabinet and began playing the game as noisily as possible while Cat kept the scoreboard buzzing. Ladybug ran towards the glow of the tablet and punched in the general vicinity of the distracted Evillustrator until she landed a hit, causing him to drop his pencil. She caught it by the light of the tablet and snapped it in two, releasing the akuma.  
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." Ladybug said as her yo-yo opened up like a ladybug, revealing a pool of pink energy. She swung the yo-yo in a circle and shouted, "Time to de-evilize!" She threw the yo-yo at the akuma, and it closed up around it. She reeled the yo-yo in, catching it in her hand.  
"Gotcha!" she said. The yo-yo opened back up, releasing the purified butterfly. "Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said, "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug tossed the basketball into the sky, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that repair everything in Adrien's room, the street outside the hardware store, and even the glass that Sidewinder broke earlier. A cloud of black and purple smoke surrounded the Evillustrator, and he reverted back to Nathaniel. The last toe flashed on Cat Noir's ring.  
"Oh, I gotta get out of here." Cat Noir said.  
"I'll get Nathaniel home." Sidewinder said before he picked up the unconscious redhead.  
"Here, let me help you." Cat Noir put the lever on the wall back into place, opening the window shutters. He then pressed a button on Adrien's remote, opening up the window.  
"Say, how do you know so much about how this place works?"  
"Uh, I uh, did some research?"  
"Cool, same." Sidewinder said before shooting his rattle out the window, and Cat Noir silently sighed.

Sidewinder carried Nathaniel through the cold Paris night until he reached the address he knew quite well. He opened the window with his rattle and climbed in. He set Nathaniel gently onto his bed, and slowly backed away before jumping back out the window.

The next day, Pat arrived at school as he would any other morning, only today he was carrying a small extra bag. He passed Marinette.  
"Hey, Pat." she said to him, "Did you finish the umbrella? I know yesterday was kind of hectic for you, so I get if you weren't able to-"  
"No, I got it finished." Pat said, holding up the bag, "Took me most of the free time I had left, but I managed."  
"Oh, great. I got the canopy done yesterday, too. Then again, I had more time for that than you did, what with all that-"  
"Yeah. Listen, I should probably go find Nathaniel. Don't know what to say to him, but I need to talk to him."  
"I get it. See you in a bit, Pat." Pat waved at Marinette and proceeded to the locker room, where he found Nathaniel standing at his locker. Pat walked up to him.  
"Hey, Nath," Pat said, "I wanted to talk to you. About... yesterday."  
"What about yesterday?" Nathaniel mumbled.  
"About that whole thing with Marinette." Pat clarified, "Look, you were right, I should've remembered how you felt, and not just gone all in right off the bat. I'm sorry." Nathaniel took a deep breath in, and responded.  
"It's okay. What I did that day was wrong, too."  
"It's not your fault," Pat assured him, "you were under Hawk Moth's control."  
"No, Pat, you don't understand." Nathaniel said, "I know that everyone says that when you're akumatized, you don't remember anything, and you're completely under Hawk Moth's control, but... that's not how it is."  
"It isn't?" Pat asked, fidgeting with his bracelet.  
"No, it's not." Nathaniel repeated, "I remember everything that happened yesterday. I've been trying to forget it, I really have. I also tried forgetting what happened last time Hawk Moth got to me, but... there are some things you can never forget." Pat hugged Nathaniel in a boa-like yet somehow still gentle hug, before releasing him.  
"And the worst part," he continued, "is that I remember feeling totally in control."  
"That sounds... scary." Pat said, "But... you'd never actually do that stuff on your own, would you? Given that power, I mean?"  
"I don't think so, but..." Nathaniel trailed off.  
"Look, that's all behind you now." Pat said, "I know that deep down, there'll always be some good in you." Nathaniel smiled.  
"Thanks."  
"So, back to Marinette..." Pat started.  
"Pat, don't worry." Nathaniel said, "I've decided that if Marinette doesn't feel the same as I do, I can't force her to change her mind. She needs what will make her happy, not what'll make me happy."  
"That's probably a good way to look at things." Pat said before holding his bag up, "So I guess that means you won't have a problem with me giving this to Marinette?"  
"Go ahead."  
"Thanks." Pat said before he leaned a little closer to Nathaniel, "And if things don't work out," he whispered, "I'll put in a good word for you." Nathaniel chuckled, and Pat picked up the bag and carried it over to Marinette, who was standing at her locker. He opened the bag and removed the metal contraption inside. It was rather simple in design, eight ribs that did not collapse, but it was well-crafted all around. He presented the skeletal umbrella to Marinette.  
"That looks amazing, Pat!" she said, "I'll get the canopy on." Marinette dug around in her backpack until she found a small leather sleeve rolled up piece of black vinyl, with yellow, brown, green and purple stripes in it. She slid each rib of the skeleton into the thin sleeves of the canopy, and put the leather sleeve onto the crooked handle, and the umbrella was complete.  
"Adrien's gonna love it." Pat said before going back to his desk. Adrien stepped through the door, and Marinette hurried to hide the umbrella in her locker, but Pat put his hand on her shoulder. Marinette took out the umbrella and walked over to Adrien at his locker.  
"Uh, hey, uh, Adrien," she stammered, "uh, I, uh, to wanted, I mean, want-o ed, I mean-" Marinette took a deep breath, "I wanted to give you this." Marinette presented the umbrella to Adrien, bowing forward and holding it out as if it were a sword. Adrien took the umbrella and looked it over.  
"Amazing." he said, "I've never seen this pattern on an umbrella before, did you make this?"  
"Yes. I mean, I did make the canopy, but I didn't actually build the umbrella itself, it was Pat who built it, but it was my idea to make it, not that I'm trying to downplay Pat's help or anything-" Marinette caught her rambling and stopped.  
"Well, I really appreciate it." Adrien said, "You're a great friend, Marinette." Marinette glanced over Adrien's shoulder and saw Pat, gesturing for her to speak. She knew exactly what to say, and opened her mouth to speak.  
"Adrien, I don't just want to be friends. I made this special for you, because I remembered the day you gave me your umbrella. It was the sweetest, kindest thing anyone had ever done for me, and I wanted you to see just how much you really mean to me."  
Is what Marinette wanted to say.  
"What are friends for?" is what she actually said before Adrien walked off to class. Marinette looked back at Pat, who was now banging his head against his locker.

Classes had ended for the day. Pat stepped out through the double doors, and saw a torrential downpour beyond the proscenium. He reached into his backpack and took out a travel umbrella.  
_Thank you forecast app._ Pat thought as he opened his umbrella up and stepped out into the rain. He heard the door close behind him, and turned to see Adrien, carrying the umbrella Marinette gave him earlier.  
"Hey, Pat." he said.  
"Hi, Adrien." Pat replied.  
"Marinette said you helped her make this?"  
"Yeah, I did."  
"Well, I just wanted to say that was pretty cool of you, and the umbrella turned out really well."  
"Thanks."  
"Marinette's a really good friend, isn't she?" Pat took a deep breath after what Adrien said.  
"Adrien, have you ever noticed the way Marinette acts around you?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, for one, she tells me this isn't the first gift she's given you. And two, have you noticed the way she stutters every time you're nearby?"  
"Now that you mention it, she does stammer a lot. But I never really noticed it was only around me. Pat, what are you trying to get at?"  
"Look, I didn't want to just tell you point blank because, well, I don't feel it's my place, but... have you ever considered that Marinette may not see you as just a friend?" Thunder boomed in the distance, and Adrien's eyes widened, as if startled by either the sound or some realization.  
"Seems you get it now." Pat said.  
"I... I never realized."  
"So, what do you think?"  
"I don't know, really. I mean, there's actually someone else I'm into right now." Pat smacked himself in the face.  
"Is this school just one big cycle of crushes? Nathaniel likes Marinette, Marinette likes you, you like someone else, it feels like I'm living in a soap opera!" Adrien chuckled.  
"I'll think about it at home. See you later, Pat." Adrien walked off and took a seat in his limousine, and out the corner of his eye, he saw Marinette walking down the building steps.


	6. Rewriter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell from the publication date, this was originally posted after all the other Sidewinder stories, but I've placed in its proper chronological position here, and without the framing device I used on DeviantArt to avoid confusion.

The day got off to a very strong start. Pat took a seat next to Nathaniel in Miss Bustier's room, when he noticed the chair in front of him was empty.  
"That's odd, she's been out for two days now." Pat said, "There some kind of bug going around or..."  
"No, apparently her parents are off on some foreign affairs in the UK." Nathaniel said.  
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Pat said as he grabbed his notebook out of his bag.

After class, Pat walked toward the door, when he heard Marinette speak.  
"Hey, Pat?" she said, "I wanted to talk to you about Lila. Now, I get that you two are friends, and I don't want to ruin that for you, but-"  
"You think she's not telling the truth about the whole UK thing?" Pat said.  
"I was working the register at the bakery yesterday, and one of our customers was a Mrs. Rossi."  
"You sure it wasn't just someone else with the same name? I mean, it's not that uncommon, is it?"  
"Well, I suppose... maybe I am overreacting. Sorry."  
"It's okay." Pat exited the classroom.

Pat stared at the board during his chemistry class, but nothing was getting through.  
_She wouldn't lie again, would she?_ he thought, _I mean, last time she got caught lying, it was so humiliating for her, wasn't it?  
_"Now, as we saw in yesterday's lab," Mrs. Mendeleiev continued on, but Pat was still lost in thought.  
_And the bakery thing, Rossi isn't that uncommon of a name, is it?_ Pat surreptitiously fished his phone out of his pocket, and pulled up a names wiki. He found the page for Rossi, and saw that it was the 215th most popular name in France.  
"No cell phones in class!" Mrs. Mendeleiev said, and Pat scrambled to put the phone back in his pocket.  
_So yeah, it could just be someone else with the same name._ Pat reasoned, _But... it couldn't hurt to double check on things, right?_ Pat waited out the rest of the lecture. When it finally ended, Pat quickly stepped outside the classroom and pulled up Photogram. First in his feed was a picture of the London Eye, posted under Lila's handle.  
"Had some free time today, so I decided to do some sightseeing. View was too good not to take a picture."  
He pressed and held on the photo, hit "Copier l'adresse de l'image", and flipped over to Giga Images. He entered the image address into the search field: over twenty-five billion hits for the exact same image.  
_She... she lied?_ he thought, _Of course she lied, Pat, that's all she's ever done! You thought that just because you were nice to her, she'd suddenly turn nice herself? She's just like every other liar. The moment she regains even the slightest bit of trust-- No, let it go. You know what happens when you don't let go of your anger..._

Pat slammed his bedroom door behind him, and threw himself onto his bed. He took his writing book out of his bag, and unclipped his fountain pen from the side.  
_Just gotta destress for a bit. _he thought, _That's all I need._ He started scratching on the page with his pen.  
"'How could you, Victor?' Morgan said, 'All this time you've been out on the streets killing people? I can't believe you'd lie to me like-" Pat scribbled out what he had just written.  
_Nope, too close to home._ He began writing again.  
"'I'm doing what needs to be done,' Victor said, 'people who hurt other people like that deserve to rot. Just try to tell me that I'm wrong, Morgan, I freaking dare you!'"

Elsewhere in the city, a man stood in the center of a dimly lit room, surrounded by white butterflies. A massive iris opened, revealing a butterfly shaped window in front of him, allowing him to see the entire city at once.  
"Ah, an idealist betrayed by his own optimism." he said, "Ideal prey for my akumas." A butterfly landed in his hand, and he placed his other hand over top, channeling black energy into the butterfly. The akuma flew out the window, and he called after it.  
"Fly away, my little akuma, and bring poetic justice to this troubled wordsmith."

Pat clutched tightly to his book and pen, when suddenly a small green snake flew out of his shirt collar.  
"Pat," he said, "take your bracelet off!"  
"Why, Rattle?" Pat asked.  
"Just trust me." Rattle said. Pat reluctantly slid his bracelet off his arm and placed it in its box.  
"I'm sssorry, Pat." Rattle said as he waved his arms over Pat's eyes before retreating into the bracelet. Pat absentmindedly put the bracelet in his desk drawer, and immediately his eyes flashed yellow. He turned to the window and saw a black butterfly impossibly squeeze itself through the frame. Pat scampered away from the butterfly, but it dived towards him. He tried to swat it away with his book, but all he succeeded in doing was allowing the akuma to possess it. A purple light mask appeared around Pat's eyes.  
"Rewriter, I am-"  
"Forget it, Hawk Moth!" Pat yelled, "I won't help you hurt anybody!"  
"Oh, but I expect you will. You've been lied to, and I can help you get revenge."  
"You just want to use me to get the Miraculous, you're just as bad as any liar and then some more!"  
"Liar? I'm no liar, I'm an artist, like you. And you of all people should know that artists use lies to show the truth, while liars use lies to hide it. And the powers I am offering you will give you the power to not only show the truth, but make it your own."  
"I'm... I'm listening."  
"That book in your hands, should you choose to accept, will now allow you to rewrite the story in whatever way you desire, so long, of course, as it ends with Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous in my hand."  
"Any way I want?"  
"Of course."  
"I hate to say it, but... it's a deal." And with those words, the light mask disappeared, and Pat's clothes changed to a suit of inky black, with fountain pen shaped gauntlets and a butterfly shaped mask.

Lila sat on her bed, a poster of Elizabeth Tower behind her. She held her phone out in front of her, and positioned the camera just right to take a selfie without capturing the edges of the poster. She hovered her thumb over the shutter button, and posed for the picture.  
_KNOCK KNOCK!  
_Lila hopped out of bed and ran to the door of her apartment. She looked through the peephole, but saw nothing but a small rectangle on the floor. She opened the door cautiously and looked down to get a clearer look. It was a book, a children's book judging by the size and the cover art style. The front cover read "The Tallest Tower", and the cover art depicted a brown-haired girl leaning out the window of a tall tower, which itself was leaning over in the midst of numerous upright towers.  
_Wonder who left this here?_ Lila thought as she closed the door and carried the book to her room. She sat back down on her bed and opened the book up.

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Nyx.

Nyx had just moved into a kingdom where everyone built tall towers for themselves, and the taller your tower, the more people liked you.

Nyx wanted people to love her, so she built a tower as tall as the tallest in the kingdom.

Everyone loved her, until one day, a gust of wind knocked the tower down.

Nyx was in such a hurry to build a tall tower that she never tried to make it a strong tower.

Everyone left Nyx behind, and Nyx was sad.

Until one day, a humble peasant came and offered to help her rebuild her tower, this time strong enough to handle the strongest winds.

They worked together for many days and nights, and it soon reached the sky once again.

But one day, while inspecting the tower, the peasant found that on top of every level they had built together, Nyx had built another layer, just as weak as the last tower.

This made the peasant so angry that he began to take bricks out of the weak layers, until...

The tower collapsed once again, with Nyx inside at the top.

The End.

_Well, that was a surprisingly dark ending. _Lila thought as she flipped the last page, revealing the writing on the back inside cover.  
"Sound familiar?" it read, followed by a scribble that simultaneously looked like a "P.M." and a "R.W."  
"Okay, what is going on here?" Lila said to herself, not expecting an answer.  
"Oh, just a market test." Lila spun in the direction of the voice, and saw Rewriter standing behind her.  
"Need to make sure the story's in good shape before I show it to the public." he continued.  
"W-what do you want from me?" Lila asked.  
"Just a little catharsis, for betraying our trust."  
"Our?"  
"You've lied to all of us, Lila. Your classmates, your teachers, even the people who called you their friend. Now it's time to suffer the consequences." Lila raced for her bedroom door, but tripped over her feet.  
"Mom, Dad, help!" Lila shouted.  
"They can't hear you, Lila." Rewriter said, "Even if they could, they couldn't help you. Not from across the English Channel, that is."  
"But that was just a-"  
"Another lie? Yeah, I figured. But, I made some revisions, so you can have this one." Lila fumbled for her pocket, and dug out her phone.

Adrien sat at his computer desk, watching an anime girl in a white costume fighting a red haired woman in a flowing emerald dress, when suddenly his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Lila's caller ID. He swiped the green icon and held the phone to his ear.  
"Hello?" he said.  
"Ad--uma--elp--me!" was all he heard on the other side.  
"Lila? Lila, what's happening?" Adrien heard nothing but the sound of a call dropping.  
"Plagg!" Adrien shouted, and the black cat kwami flew out of Adrien's jacket pocket and up to eye level.  
"Lila's in trouble." he continued, "We have to help her. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien thrust his fist out, and Plagg was sucked into his silver ring. He swiped his hand across his face, and a black mask appeared. He ran his hands through his hair, and two fake cat ears appeared on his head. He snapped his arms out to the sides, and a black leather costume appeared around his body, a belt forming a cat-like tail hanging over a white metal stick. Cat Noir opened the window and jumped out.

Lila scrambled to her feet and ran to the door, only to find it jammed shut. Rewriter grabbed her and spun her around, and raised his fountain pen into the air.  
"Hold that thought, Rewriter." Hawk Moth said, "Vengeance will be yours in time, but for now, she makes great bait Ladybug and Cat Noir."  
"A hostage plot," Rewriter said, "I like it." Rewriter threw Lila back onto her bed and grabbed one of the sheets, twisting it into a rope. He placed the rope in Lila's mouth and tied it around Lila's wrists. Just as Rewriter propped Lila up against the wall behind her bed, Cat Noir leaped through the window and made a three point landing, only for Rewriter to grab Cat Noir's arm and fling him across the room.  
"Superheroes love landing that way." Rewriter said, "Such a cliche." Cat Noir grabbed his staff and charged at Rewriter, but Rewriter simply grabbed the end of the staff and used it to slam him into the wall.  
_It's like he knows my every move before I make it!_ Cat Noir thought.  
"Of course I know your every move." Rewriter said, "Once you know enough of these stories, you can predict them beat for beat."  
"Okay, that's just creepy." Cat Noir said.  
"Now, the way I see it, there are two options. One, you can hand over your Miraculous and save us all the trouble, or two, you can continue to fight and get yourself killed. What'll it be?"  
"I'll-"  
"You'll die before you hand it over, of course. Well, that's your decision." Rewriter ran towards Cat Noir, fountain pen held high. Cat Noir swung his staff at Rewriter's arm, but he dodged and pinned Cat Noir to the wall by a hand to the forehead. Rewriter brought the fountain pen up to Cat Noir's neck, when he felt a surprise strike from Cat Noir's knee. Rewriter collapsed, and Cat Noir escaped out the window.

Marinette sat at her computer desk, her eyes scanning over a notebook while a cursor blinked on a word document. A red spotted fairy-creature flew out of her pocketbook and into her face.  
"Hate to interrupt your homework, Marinette," she said, "but you have a message from Cat Noir."  
"Looks like the essay will have to wait." Marinette sighed, "Tikki, spots on!" The kwami flew into Marinette's earrings, and Marinette spread her hands across her face, causing a red and black-spotted mask to appear around her eyes. A similarly spotted costume appeared around Marinette's body, followed by a yo-yo on her hip. She did a small spin, and assumed a fighting stance as Ladybug. She climbed out onto the balcony and opened her yo-yo.  
"Ladybug," Cat Noir said on the screen, "we've got an akuma attack at an apartment complex. Meet me in the Place des Vosges ASAP." Ladybug closed the yo-yo and threw it into the distance, swinging away.

Cat Noir sat on a park bench, when Ladybug landed in front of him.  
"Okay, what's the deal?" she asked.  
"Remember Lila?" he said.  
"Lila, as in Volpina, Lila?"  
"Yeah."  
"What does she have to do with this?"  
"She's being attacked by this guy who's dressed like a giant pen. He's too smart for me to fight on my own, he says I'm too predictable or something."  
"So I guess we have to save her." Ladybug said, a tinge of reluctance in her voice, "Where is she now?"  
"Last I saw she was bound and gagged in her room." Cat Noir pointed up to the window of Lila's bedroom.  
"Okay, we need a plan. First, you go in there and-" Ladybug was cut off by the sound of stone scraping against stone, and the two heroes looked up to see a massive tower rising up from the apartment complex.  
"Okay, plan B." Ladybug threw her yo-yo in through Lila's window, when she felt herself being pulled up by a force beyond her control. She landed face first on the floor. Ladybug stood herself up and rotated her wrist in a circle, only to find that her yo-yo wasn't in her hand.  
"Looking for this?" Rewriter said. Ladybug looked up and saw Rewriter standing next to the base of the tower, clutching the red and black yo-yo in his hand, "Sorry, I'll be keeping this. Can't have any dei ex machina in my story."  
"Where's Lila?" Ladybug demanded.  
"Where do you think? Top of the tower." A breeze blew in, and the tower began to shake, "Though it may not be the top for much longer."  
"Look, I get it. You've been lied to. She does it to everyone."  
"You don't get it, do you? I showed her trust when no one else would. I gave her the chance to learn from her mistake, and she threw it in my face."  
"Pat?"  
"As slow on the uptake as usual, I see. Though I don't answer to that name anymore. I prefer Rewriter. Say, where's your partner? Or did I go too hard on him and scare him off." Rewriter smirked, but that was quickly wiped away when Cat Noir vaulted through the window.  
"Please, I'm no scaredy-cat." Cat Noir said.  
"Well, if that's the case, then you shouldn't be scared to venture into this tower to save your little friend." Rewriter kicked the tower, causing it to wobble even more.  
"There's no time for a plan, Ladybug. We have to go in!" Cat Noir said as he charged into the tower's open doorway. Ladybug's eyes jumped between Rewriter and the highest visible point on the tower.  
"I'll come back for you, Pat, I promise!" Ladybug said before she ran into the tower after Cat.

On the other side of the door, Ladybug found a darkened room. Against one of the walls was a barren bookshelf, and on the opposite side a bed with a white and gray spread. There was also a toybox, but it was noticeably empty even from a distance.  
"Well, this certainly isn't what I was expecting." Ladybug said.  
"Me neither." Cat Noir said, his green eyes shining through the darkness beside her.  
"How do we get to the top of the tower from here? I don't see any other exits aside from the way we came."  
"Your guess is as good as mi-" Cat Noir stopped when he saw a small rat scurry across the floor, and squeeze its way through the cracked closet door. Cat Noir went over to the closet door.  
"Chasing mice, kitty?" Ladybug teased as Cat Noir opened the door. On the other side was children's clothes, as was to be expected, but between them was a slight glow of light, as if there was a lit room on the other side. Cat Noir went through the door, past the hanging clothes, and disappeared into the closet. Ladybug followed him through, and discovered that she was in another child's bedroom. The layout was identical to the previous room, only mirrored, but everything else was different. The shelf was filled to bursting with books, the bedspread was a bold regal purple, and the toybox was filled to the brim with wind-up toys and stuffed animals.  
"Wait..." Ladybug said, "this feels... oh no."  
"What?" Cat Noir said.  
"Have you ever read _Ovilia_?"  
"You mean that book about a little girl who finds an alternate dimension in her closet?"  
"Yeah, I read it when I was younger, and it absolutely terrified me. I hate horror stories, and now I think we're in one."  
"Well, I'm not too keen on the idea of that myself, but we gotta keep going."  
"Right." Ladybug crept over to the bedroom door, and pulled it open by a crack. She peered through the doorway, and saw on the other side the silhouette of a giant spider-creature. She slammed the door back shut, bracing her body against it and taking deep breaths.  
"You okay, Ladybug?" Cat Noir asked. Ladybug took another moment to catch her breath, and spoke.  
"Yeah, I was just kind of terrified back there." Ladybug said, "I'll be fine."  
_'Ovilia didn't know her father was afraid of spiders when he captured the black widow in her room.'_ Ladybug remembered from the book, _'She was very surprised when he revealed it years later. That's when she learned that being brave doesn't mean not being scared, but instead doing something you're scared of because you know it's what you should do.'  
_"I am brave." she whispered, "I'm scared, but I'm brave." Ladybug opened the door and ran into the kitchen, where she saw the spider-creature in full view. It had the body of a young woman, but instead of legs, she had a spider's abdomen, and she had eight arms, which all started as normal human flesh, but six of them slowly changed into hairy spider legs at the elbow. Her head appeared normal at first, but as she jerked it to one side, her bangs flew up, revealing six additional eyes above the normal two.  
"Hello, darling." she spoke, revealing the inside of her mouth to not contain a tongue, but rather the mouth-parts of a spider, "It's me, Mother Weaver. Shall we play a game?" Ladybug grabbed at her hip, only to realize that her yo-yo was still missing. Cat Noir ran into the room, spinning his staff as he came, but Mother Weaver simply grabbed the staff with one hand and shoved Cat Noir away with one of her spider legs. Mother Weaver then threw the staff at the door, and webbed it to the wall, blocking them in. Mother Weaver scuttled over to Cat Noir, and lunged down towards him, her spider mouth-parts reaching out for a bite. Cat Noir curled up into a ball in fright, and her fangs failed to pierce the material of his costume.  
"Now, kitty, don't be afraid." Mother Weaver said, "It won't hurt a bit." Cat Noir refused to move, and Mother Weaver scoffed before turning back to Ladybug.  
"Be strong, be smart, be sneaky." Ladybug muttered, "How did Ovilia get out of this?" Ladybug's eyes darted around the room, and landed on a self-bored stone on the countertop.  
_A hag stone._ Ladybug realized, _That'll let me see her weakness!_ Ladybug ran for the counter, but found her path blocked by Mother Weaver's leg.  
"Dearie, you look absolutely famished." she said, "Would you care for a slice of chicken?" Ladybug grabbed hold of the leg, but was flung into the air. Thinking quickly, she grabbed onto the chandelier and swung feet first into Mother Weaver's head, stunning her. She jumped backwards onto the countertop and grabbed the hag stone, and she instantly felt reinvigorated. She peered through the hole in the stone, and saw Mother Weaver's right hand glowing red.  
_Of course, her heart is in her hand._ Ladybug clutched onto the stone and jumped onto Mother Weaver's back, grabbing her right arm. Mother Weaver bucked and jerked, but Ladybug held on tight.  
"Cat Noir, the door!" Ladybug shouted, but Cat Noir was still silent and motionless. "Come on, Cat, be brave!" Cat Noir stayed in place.  
_Gotta get through to him somehow,_ she thought, _he's the only one who can open the door._ Ladybug looked at the hag stone, and instantly got an idea.  
"Cat Noir, grab this!" Ladybug threw the stone in Cat Noir's direction. He looked out the corner of his eye and saw the stone on the floor. He reluctantly reached over and grabbed it, instantly restoring his strength. Cat Noir ran to the door and grabbed onto the staff. He pressed the button on the staff, and it split in two, freeing the door up to open. Cat Noir opened the door and Ladybug dragged Mother Weaver by the arm until her hand was through the doorway.  
"Now!" Cat Noir slammed the door shut on Mother Weaver's wrist, breaking her hand off of her body. Ladybug cautiously opened the door, and saw a pile of sand on the ground where Mother Weaver once was.  
"That... was terrifying." Ladybug said.  
"But we made it!" Cat Noir said, holding the stone in his hand, when suddenly it started glowing orange. Cat Noir opened his hand, and the glow filled the whole room before the stone disappeared.  
"Let's keep moving." Cat Noir said, "We don't have much time."  
"Right." Ladybug ran to the staircase and Cat Noir followed her up.

At the top of the stairs was a large metal door with a big pull handle. Ladybug pulled it open, and saw on the other side a darkened area, ropes and ladders hung on the wall, but largely empty. She felt around on the wall, and found a lightswitch. She flipped it on, and a small bulb in a metal cage lit up over the door.  
_It isn't much,_ Ladybug thought, _but it'll do._ Cat Noir came in the door after her, and took a look around.  
"I think we're on a stage." he said.  
"What makes you say that?"  
"The giant curtain, for one." Cat Noir pointed and Ladybug turned to see, sure enough, a large curtain extending from one side of the room to the other. She poked her head past the edge of the curtain, and saw a collection of plastic chairs arranged on a tile floor, and metal pull-down doors over holes in the wall.  
"Not much of an auditorium, though." she remarked as she pulled her head back behind the curtain. She went back to the wings with Cat Noir, when she noticed a beaker of green, fizzy liquid sitting on a small table. Ladybug cautiously approached the table and picked the beaker up. She sniffed the neck of the beaker.  
"It smells like... lemons and oranges... but it's green?"  
"Oh, I think I know what that is." Cat Noir said, "It's an American soda called Vert Voltage." Ladybug held the beaker up to her eye level, where she noticed a bunch of gray ovals sitting at the bottom.  
"And... what looks like mints at the bottom?" Ladybug said.  
"Wait... mints at the bottom... of a beaker of Vert Voltage... oh, no. Those are not mints."  
"How would you know?"  
"I know what story this is. Ever heard of _Cool Down, Bro_?"  
"I've heard of it, don't know the story."  
"Well, those 'mints' are actually tiny supercomputers, called QuICs. Swallow one with Vert Voltage, and it'll link with your brain and, theoretically, teach you how to be cool."  
"Let me guess, it doesn't work out that way in practice?"  
"Definitely not." Cat Noir opened his mouth to continue, when suddenly he saw a shadowy figure coming behind Ladybug.  
"Ladybug, watch out!" before Ladybug could react to Cat Noir's warning, however, she felt her arm being grabbed. She turned to see a middle-aged man in a tweed jacket glaring at her, his eyes glowing a sinister shade of blue.  
"You selfish brats, trying to ruin my show? My QuIC says that I can be the greatest stage director of all time, just as long as you costumed freaks don't get in my way." Ladybug dropped the beaker and punched the man in the face, and the tension around her arm was released just long enough for her to escape.  
"So part of this book takes place backstage?" Cat Noir nodded at Ladybug's question, "What happens there?"  
"Well, the main character's QuIC tricks him into putting a bunch of QuICs into a beaker of Vert Voltage that the entire cast drinks from."  
"And they all get brainwashed?"  
"Exactly."  
"There you are, heroes." two voices said in unison. Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to see two teenage girls standing side by side, one dressed in blood red with pale skin and dark blonde hair, the other dressed in green with dark hair and olive skin.

"Why do you even care about the girl?" they continued in a robotic monotone, "She's, like, totally a lying bi-" Cat Noir smacked the one in red with his staff, and Ladybug punched the one in green, only to find a large crowd of teenage zombies marching across the stage. The heroes ducked back into the wings.  
"Let me guess, the QuICs are all part of a hive mind?" Ladybug said.  
"Yeah." Cat Noir said.  
"How did they defeat them in the book?"  
"The only way to destroy the hive mind is to make one of them drink Cherry Charge-Up, a soda discontinued in the 90s. It'll set off a chain reaction, destroying all the QuICs."  
"Okay, so we just need a bottle of Cherry Charge-Up. May need a time machine to find it." Ladybug looked around the room, and saw a single bottle of red liquid, labeled with a graphic of red electricity around the words "Cherry Charge-Up". Ladybug ran for the bottle, when suddenly it was pulled out of her sight by a dark-skinned hand. She turned to see a tall, muscular boy with a cast on his arm holding the bottle.  
"Give me that bottle," Ladybug said, "I'm doing you a favor."  
"Oh, I do not believe that." he said robotically, "My QuIC has made me so much more awesome in just five minutes than I've ever been before in my life." the boy twisted the lid off the bottle with his bandaged hand, in a move that made Ladybug wince with sympathy pain, and threw the bottle into the crowd of zombie students, spilling the red soda all across the stage.  
"In that case, I'm really sorry." Ladybug said before punching the boy in his face, knocking him to the ground.  
"Ladybug, the bottle!" Cat Noir said.  
"How are we supposed to get past them?" Ladybug said.  
"You ever play a zombie game?"  
"Who hasn't?"  
"Well then load up Co-Op Mode, we've got a school to save." Ladybug vaulted over the boy and walked with Cat Noir into the crowd. One came at her, and she pushed him aside. Cat Noir swatted two away with his staff, but one came at him from behind, startling him. Ladybug, however, quickly pulled her off and tossed her to the ground. They bumped fist and made their way forward, fighting their way past the horde of brainwashed teens, until Cat Noir was able to reach the bottle in the middle of the floor, which now only contained a few drops of red liquid.  
"Okay, we got the soda." Ladybug said.  
"Now we need to get one of them to drink it." Cat Noir said, "But I don't think any of them will go along willingly."  
"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." Ladybug grabbed the arms of a small woman in a long, fluffy dress and held them behind her back, "Cat Noir, give her the drink." Cat Noir approached the girl and poured the last drops of the cherry beverage down her throat. Instantly, she began to scream, and the rest of the kids followed suit, creating a cacophony of ear-splitting screeches as their eyes flashed every color in the spectrum until they all passed out. Cat Noir looked down at the bottle in his hand, and it disappeared in a flash of orange light. A loud metal tumbling sound echoed from the other wing, and the duo turned to see an open door, leading to a stairwell. They run up the stairs to the next level of the tower.

At the top of the stairs, Ladybug and Cat Noir found themselves not in another building, but rather outdoors, in a forest of evergreen trees. The distinctive aroma of pine mingled with the salty scents of sea breeze as Ladybug explored the area.  
"What story do you think this is?" Ladybug asked.  
"No clue, m'lady." Cat Noir said, "Hope we don't find out the hard way." Ladybug continued exploring when suddenly she ran into what felt like a solid wall.  
"Ow!" she said as she looked up in front of her. Strangely, there was no obstacle of any sort in front of her. Cautiously, Ladybug extended her hand forward, and felt a sort of repulsive force. Looking off into the distance, she noticed an apple orchard surrounding a small farmhouse.  
"An orchard in a valley..." Ladybug mused, "that kind of rings a bell. Cat, any idea?"  
"I definitely have the same feeling." Cat Noir said, "An apple orchard, surrounded by a pine forest, guarded by a force field... Oh, I know where we are! We're in Children of Olympus!"  
"Of course! And that's the magic orchard that hides Camp Olympus from mortals."  
"Yeah! Although, there is one detail off..."  
"What?"  
"There's supposed to be a tree, a giant pine tree that grows apples instead of pinecones, right on the property line."  
"Oh yeah, the tree that grew over the grave of Calliope Muse, after she was killed by... oh no, I see where this is going." A loud cry echoed through the forest, like the howl of a wolf mixed with the screech of a bat. Ladybug and Cat Noir turned from the orchard, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.  
"You... heard that, too, right?" Cat Noir said.  
"Yeah, I heard it." Ladybug said, "Keep your eyes open, this could get dangerous." Another screech, deeper this time, echoed through the woods. Ladybug jerked her head side to side, but the echo was too strong to triangulate. Finally there was a third screech, not only higher in pitch, but also much louder, and coming from directly overhead. Ladybug and Cat Noir covered their ears and looked up to see a creature in the sky with the body of an old woman, the arms of a bat, and the legs of a wolf. Its skin was a sickly shade of green, and the mangy fur of her legs was ash gray.  
"An Erinys!" Ladybug shouted as the creature dove towards them. Ladybug dodged the attack, and Cat Noir swatted the Erinys away with his staff, only for another one to appear, this time with bluish-purple skin. The purple Erinys dived at Ladybug, but she vaulted over her arms and kicked the monster square in the chest. As the purple one regained its bearings, however, an Erinys with skin as red as blood emerged and grabbed Ladybug in its arms. Ladybug punched and kicked, but the thing was undeterred. She was only barely able to wriggle one of her arm's free.  
"Ladybug, grab on!" Cat Noir extended his staff, and Ladybug grabbed it. The Erinys' momentum ripped Ladybug from its grip, but it was still flying, totally uninjured.  
"Seems they won't go down very easily." Ladybug said as she slid down the staff, fireman style.  
"There's gotta be a weakness." Cat Noir said.  
"How did they kill them in the book again? It's been a while."  
"Bronze. The only way to kill an Erinys is to pierce their skin with a weapon of bronze."  
"Okay, so we just need to find a bronze weapon somewhere in these woods." Ladybug scanned her surroundings, until she noticed a brown glimmer in the grass. Ladybug dove for the glimmer, but was tackled by the purple Erinys. Cat Noir ran towards her, but the Erinys turned and screeched at Cat, baring its jagged fangs. Cat Noir was startled at first, but thrust his staff at the Erinys all the same. The creature leaped towards Cat Noir, freeing Ladybug. She reached out and grabbed at the item in the grass, a bronze-colored pen.  
"A pen?" she said, "What am I supposed to do with-"  
_"Bellerophon, wait." Mr. Philips said, "It's too dangerous for you to go out there unarmed. Take this." Mr. Philips tossed me his cane, and I caught it perfectly. Just as I opened my mouth to ask what I was going to do with a cane, he waved his hand, and the cane shrunk into the shape of a capped bronze pen. Now I was even more confused, and I guess Mr. Philips noticed, because he gestured for me to uncap the pen. I did so, but quickly noticed that the "pen" was actually a sword in some kind of magic sheath._  
Ladybug removed the cap of the pen, revealing a long bronze blade that was perfectly balanced in her hand despite lacking any sort of pommel. She raised the sword to the Erinyes, causing them to recoil in fright. The red Erinys lunged at Ladybug, but she slashed it across the chest, causing it to disintegrate. Ladybug charged at the purple Erinys and swung her blade, but the monster jumped to avoid it and kicked her to the ground mid-air. Ladybug stood up and raised her arms, but quickly realized the sword wasn't in her hand. She looked at the ground beside her, and reached out to grab the sword, but the Erinys swooped down and grabbed it first and flew away with it. The creature only made it a few meters, however, before howling in pain and dropping the sword, revealing severe burns on its flesh. Cat Noir lunged and grabbed the blade, and stabbed the green Erinys with it, turning it into ash. Ladybug ran up beside him.  
"Nice work, kitty." she said.  
"Thanks." Cat Noir said as he handed the sword back to her, "Only one left to go." Cat Noir readied his staff, and Ladybug assumed a fighting stance with the sword. The purple Erinys hovered overhead, the wind from its wings pushing on the heroes. Cat Noir extended his staff and swung at the monster. It grabbed onto the staff and pulled, but Cat pulled back harder, and the creature was brought down closer to ground. Cat extended his free hand to the side. Ladybug ran up to him and jumped onto his hand, boosting her up to the height of the Erinys, which she struck with the sword, killing it instantly. Ladybug threw the sword to the ground and rolled into her landing. She stood up and turned around to see the sword disappearing in a glow of orange.  
"Now, where's the exit?" Ladybug said. The two looked around for a moment before they heard a strange mechanical whirring overhead. They turned their heads up to see a golden elevator descending from the sky, coming to rest on the ground in front of them. The doors opened with a ding, revealing an impossibly spacious interior. Ladybug and Cat Noir shrugged and entered the elevator, which rose up into the sky.

The elevator doors opened in front of Ladybug and Cat Noir, and on the other side was Lila, sitting tied to a chair by the string of Ladybug's yo-yo, and Rewriter standing behind her, and behind him stood a large barrel. Ladybug opened her mouth to speak, but Rewriter cut her off.  
"'It doesn't have to be like this, Pat!' Ladybug shouted. Every time, it's all the same. Doesn't it ever get tiring? Just hand over your Miraculous, and that can be the end of it."  
"You know, for how much you know how these stories go, you seem to miss the part where the villain always loses." Cat Noir said.  
"Oh trust me, that's one cliche I wholly intend to subvert." Rewriter grabbed the fountain pen off of his book and uncapped it. The point of the pen extended into a stiletto blade, and he ran towards Ladybug and Cat Noir. Ladybug ducked to avoid the blade, and Cat Noir smacked him with his staff. Rewriter came at Cat Noir again, dodging another swipe, and struck him with the bottom of his fist. Rewriter spun the knife in his hand and jabbed the blade into Cat Noir's shoulder, but it had no effect.  
"Right, indestructible suit." Rewriter said, "No matter, there's still more than enough exposed flesh for a good strike." Ladybug grabbed Rewriter's arm, but he quickly wrested it out of her grip before elbowing her in the stomach. Rewriter turned around and thrust his blade towards her face, when Cat Noir's staff suddenly extended from behind him and leveraged his arm back, giving Ladybug the opportunity to punch him in the face. Rewriter backhanded her in retaliation, and kicked Cat Noir in the stomach. Now free, Rewriter thrust his knife into Cat Noir's face, only to have his arm swatted away by the staff.  
"Impressive showing, heroes." Rewriter said as he subtly backed away from the duo, "Not only have you managed to pass all three of my trials, but you've even proven a worthy opponent to myself." Rewriter squinted at the two, who were noticeably out of breath, "Fortunately for me, I wasn't banking on brute force being enough to defeat you." Rewriter stabbed the barrel with his pen-blade, causing a bubbly red liquid to leak out the hole, still plugged by the blade.  
"This is your last chance to hand over your Miraculous!" Rewriter demanded, "If you don't, I'll remove my pen, and drown you all."  
"Pat, please, try to see reason." Ladybug screamed.  
"See reason? You don't think I see reason? I see reason better than the two of you! Why can't you see that I'm doing the world a favor? Hawk Moth has given me the power to change the world! Imagine it, a world where children don't have to live in fear of their parents. A world where star-crossed lovers can live happily ever after, no matter what comes their way. A world where friendships never have to die. I can give everyone the happy ending they deserve with little more than a stroke of a pen, and you think I'm unreasonable for wanting that?!"  
"The happy ending they deserve?" Ladybug asked, "Do you really think that's how the world works, that it's all a storybook?"  
"Why shouldn't it be that way?"  
"Pat, we all wish life could be like a storybook, but that just isn't possible. There aren't clear-cut heroes and villains in real life. Maybe you're the hero of your own story, but you're almost certainly the villain of someone else's, and your 'happy ending' means nothing but misery for them." Rewriter opened his mouth to retort, but found no words to say.  
"Don't listen to her, Rewriter." the voice in Rewriter's head interjected, "This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Rewriter did nothing.  
"Cat Noir, now!" Ladybug said.  
"Right," Cat Noir said, "Cataclysm!" he raised his hand into the air, channeling dark energy into his ring, which he clutched into a fist. "Lila, watch your legs!" Cat Noir said as he dove for the chair. He grabbed the leg of the chair, and the wood decayed into ash. Lila stood up, and the yo-yo string fell down to her feet. Cat Noir tossed the yo-yo to Ladybug.  
"Thanks, kitty." she said, "Lucky Charm!" Ladybug threw the yo-yo into the air, and a swarm of ladybugs gathered around it, dropping a small red and black-spotted bottle into her hands. Confused, Ladybug unscrewed the cap of the bottle and pulled it off, revealing a small brush covered in white ink. She recapped the bottle and approached Rewriter.  
"Pat, you still have a chance to set things right, and be the hero of a story besides your own." Ladybug held the bottle out in front of Rewriter. Rewriter looked up into her eyes, and instantly grabbed for the bottle. He unscrewed the lid and brushed white ink across the pages of his book, and instantly, the tower disappeared, and everyone was teleported back to Lila's bedroom.  
"Now," Ladybug continued, "it's time to release the akuma." Ladybug held out her hand, and Rewriter held out his book. Suddwenly, however, Rewriter started screaming, and swung his book in her face.  
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm not trying to do this!"  
"Then don't try harder!" Cat Noir shouted.  
"This is what happens when you defy my orders, Rewriter." Hawk Moth said. Ladybug grabbed at Rewriter's book, but Rewriter clung tightly and used it to throw Ladybug to the ground. Cat Noir attempted to jump Rewriter from behind, but was also smacked with the book, knocked to the ground. Rewriter stopped to catch his breath, when suddenly he felt his arm being grabbed. He turned his neck to see Lila behind him, yanking on his arms. After a brief struggle, Rewriter dropped his book.  
"Hey, Ladybug, now's your chance!" Lila said. Ladybug got back up and ran for the book.  
"Rewriter, grab that book!" Hawk Moth said. But before Rewriter even had a chance to react, however, Ladybug already had the book in her hands. She tore out the pages of the book, and the black butterfly flew out of the book.  
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." she said as she opened up her yo-yo, revealing a pool of pink energy, "Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug spun her yo-yo and threw it at the akuma, capturing it inside. She reeled in the yo-yo, catching it in her hand.  
"Gotcha!" Ladybug said before opening the yo-yo back up, releasing a white moth, "Bye bye, little butterfly." Ladybug grabbed the bottle and threw it into the air, shouting "Miraculous Ladybug!" The bottle turned into a swarm of ladybugs, which all gathered around Rewriter and turned him back into Pat McNeil.  
"Pound it!" Ladybug and Cat Noir said as they bumped fists, when they suddenly heard a sniffling sound. Ladybug turned to see Pat, shaking on the floor in the fetal position.  
"Pat? Pat are you alright?" Ladybug ran to Pat's side and pulled him up off the ground. His face was soaked, his limbs weak, and his breathing short.  
"What's wrong?" Cat Noir said.  
"I-I don't know," Ladybug said, "but it doesn't seem good." Pat's trembling hand reached into his pocket, and pulled out a plastic card, which he handed to Ladybug. Printed on the face was a small jigsaw puzzle, as well as some text.  
"I have autism." it read, "I may experience a shutdown or meltdown under extreme stress. Please be patient with me, communicate as clearly as possible, and help me get someplace where I can calm down." Ladybug tucked the card back into Pat's pocket.  
"Okay, Pat." she said, "I'm going to take you home now, is that okay?" Pat nodded, "Will you have a problem if I swing you over with my yo-yo?" Pat shook his head, "Okay, I'm going to need you to grab on." Pat wrapped his arms around Ladybug's body and closed his eyes as she threw her yo-yo out the window. "Count of three, then we're off. One... two... three." Ladybug jumped off the ledge and swung off, Pat clinging tightly as they went.

Once they made it back to Pat's room, Ladybug gently laid him down onto his bed. Pat's trembling arms slowly wrapped around a rainbow-colored stuffed dinosaur, which began to absorb his tears.  
"Are you going to be alright?" Ladybug asked, and Pat nodded, "Even if I leave?" Pat paused for a moment before nodding again, "Well, I'm about to change back, so I'm going to have to leave now. Goodbye." Ladybug swung back out the window. Pat pulled out his phone and pressed play on a music app, starting a playlist of upbeat showtunes.

The next day at school, Pat sat on one of the benches in the locker room. He saw Lila enter and approach her locker. He stood up and walked towards her.  
"Hey, Lila." Pat said, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened yesterday... for whatever it's worth." Lila turned to Pat, looking a bit angry at first, but took a deep breath.  
"No, I'm the one who needs to apologize." she said, "You were right, I shouldn't have lied to everyone like that. I should've known that it would've come back to bite me at some point."  
"I still feel like I need to apologize. I mean, no one deserves to go through what I put you through, no matter what they've done."  
"So... do you still want to be my friend?"  
"I'm sorry, but... I don't know if I can trust you anymore."  
"Well, can't say I blame you. I gotta get to class."  
"See you around, I guess." Lila exited the locker room.

Later, Pat sat in his usual seat for physics class, and Nathaniel came in shortly after.  
"Hey, Pat." he said, "I... heard about what happened yesterday. You wanna... talk about it?"  
"Not right now." Pat said.  
"Okay, I understand. But if you ever decide you need to..."  
"Thanks, Nath."

That night, Pat sat at his desk, writing in his book, when his pen suddenly stopped writing.  
_Out of ink again?_ he thought as he unscrewed the nib. Sure enough, the cartridge inside was empty. He tossed the empty cartridge into the trash can and opened his desk drawer. He found the box of ink cartridges, but noticed a brown wooden box with a cherry blossom design next to it.  
_What's that doing here?_ Pat grabbed the wooden box and opened it up. A bright green glow filled the room, and then faded to reveal Rattle floating above the open box.  
"Who are you?" Pat said.  
"Put on the bracelet." Rattle said, "Trust me, it will all make sense when you do." Pat hesitated, but put the bracelet on his right wrist. Instantly, a flood of memories returned to him: Volpina, Cinemaster, Plasticizer... Sidewinder.  
"I... I remember now." Pat said.  
"I told you it would all make senssse." Rattle said.  
"So wait, you could tell I was about to be akumatized, and made me give up my Miraculous, and my memories?"  
"I had to protect it sssomehow. Hawk Moth already has one Miraculousss too many."  
"You are one sneaky snake." Pat chuckled as he tugged on his shirt collar, and Rattle flew down inside.


	7. Hawk Moth (Finale Part 1)

It was late. The Parisian sky glittered with stars, barely dimmed from the light of the crescent moon, nor the massive pillar of light that was the Eiffel Tower. This sight, however, went tragically unseen, for at the time that it presented itself, all of the city had gone to sleep. All, at least, except for one. One lonely window stayed lit at this midnight hour, on the third floor of the famous Agreste Mansion. It was the window to Gabriel Agreste's office, where the famously reclusive fashion designer sat at his desk, staring intently at the computer monitor. On the screen was a message, intended for his son, Adrien, from someone called Wayhem. The e-mail was very long-winded and one-note.  
_Just another fan message,_ Gabriel thought, _I told him not to give out his personal address._ As Gabriel went to exit out of the e-mail, however, he noticed one portion in particular.  
"Hey, thanks again for letting me help out in the fight against that gorilla monster." it read, "It was so amazing pretending to be you with that cardboard face in that bike helmet." Gabriel took his eyes off the computer and thought back.

_A gigantic blue simian drags himself in the direction of several car alarms, and sees a helmeted teen in a white jacket and jeans kicking car tires._  
"Over here!" he shouted. Gorizilla reached down to grab the boy when suddenly his hand was struck by a metal shaft. He looked off to the side and saw Cat Noir standing on a rooftop.  
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Cat Noir said. Gorizilla slammed his fist down on the roof, but Cat jumped out of the way and landed in front of the boy.  
"Don't worry, Adrien," he said, "I won't let him touch a hair on your head."

_ Adrien was wearing a bike helmet whenever Cat Noir was around that day._ Gabriel thought, _Have I been duped this whole time?_ Gabriel stood up from his desk.  
"Only one way to be certain." Gabriel said before walking out the door.

Adrien laid in his bed, fast asleep in a white t-shirt and black, green-striped pajama pants. In the middle of the half-pipe next to his bed, the door opened silently, and Gabriel stepped through. Gabriel creeped over to his son's bed, and set his eyes down on the silver ring around his finger. He stealthily grabbed the ring by the bezel and slid it off the finger, barely managing to not graze the skin. Once the ring was off Adrien's hand, it suddenly turned as black as the dark room around it, with a glowing green paw print on the face. Gabriel exited the room, quickly yet quietly, and examined the ring.  
_It really is the Miraculous,_ he thought, _and at last it is mine!_ Gabriel quickly went down the stairs and through the door to his atelier.

An old man in a Hawaiian shirt sat cross-legged on a mat, eyes closed and palms together, when suddenly a miniature turtle creature flew in front of his face.  
"Master!" it said, waking the man from his slumber.  
"What is it, Wayzz?" he said.  
"Master Fu," Wayzz said, "I can no longer sense Plagg's presence."  
"You can't?" Master Fu said, "But that can only mean that... Whatever the case, we're in no position to act at this hour. We must rest." Master Fu went back to sleep, and Wayzz flew out of sight.

Sunlight broke through the curtains and landed on Pat's face, alerting him to the time before any alarm clock could. Pat's eyes shot open and he leapt out of bed with inhuman energy. He walked over to his dresser and grabbed some clothes, waking up the snake kwami curled up on top.  
"Morning, Rattle." Pat said, "Another day closer to the inevitable." Rattle chuckled.  
"Ssspeaking of," Rattle hissed, "sssummer's coming up sssoon."  
"Yep." Pat said as he removed the acid wash t-shirt he wore to bed, "Hard to believe I've been here for so long. And now there's only a few weeks left before I leave it all behind." He unfolded the shirt he held in his hands, but caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. While he was still nowhere near buff, he had lost a noticeable amount of weight since he first arrived in Paris, and his muscles were far better toned.  
"You're welcome." Rattle said as he flew over to beside Pat's head.  
"What do you mean?" Pat asked as he pulled the purple v-neck tee over his head.  
"You think that walking to the metro ssstation every morning did that to you?" Rattle teased, "Fighting crime is great exercissse."  
"Yeah, that makes sense." Pat said, "I'm gonna go grab breakfast, need some seeds before school?"  
"Yesss, please." Rattle said as Pat walked down the stairs.

An alarm clock blared as Marinette laid in bed. Tikki, the red and black spotted ladybug kwami, flew over and poked her in the face.  
"Marinette," she said, "you're gonna be late for school!" Marinette bolted upright and jumped out of bed. Literally. She fell on her face.  
"Ow." Marinette said before getting up, rubbing the side of her head.  
"Marinette, your alarm has been going off for five minutes!" Marinette reached over and turned the alarm off. She went over to her closet and grabbed a black jacket.  
"I know this probably isn't the best time, Marinette," Tikki said, "but something feels... off."  
"I get that feeling all the time, Tikki." Marinette said.  
"I don't think you get it, Marinette. We kwamis are uniquely tuned to the universe, so whenever something goes wrong, we're the first to know."  
"Hopefully it can wait until I'm awake." Marinette said as she closed the closet door.

Adrien heard his phone alarm going off, and woke up with little difficulty.  
"Don't worry, Plagg," he said, "I'll grab your morning Camembert." Adrien stood up and walked over to his desk, but soon he noticed something.  
_Where's Plagg?_ he thought. He looked on the football table, nothing. On the couch, not there either. Bookshelves, desk drawers, closet, not a trace of the black cat kwami.  
_Come on, he can't have gone far. At least not as long as I have my-_ Adrien's hand instinctively grabbed onto his ring finger, but felt nothing but bare skin. _MY RING!_ Adrien ran over to his bed and dug through all of his sheets, but found no sign of the ring. _What do I do? What do I do?_ Adrien had very little time to think before he heard a knock on the door.  
"Adrien," the female voice on the other side said, "your breakfast is ready. Everything alright?"  
"Uh, yeah, Nathalie." Adrien said.  
"Well get dressed quickly, school is in an hour."  
"Right, thanks." Adrien reluctantly walked away from his bed towards his closet.

Pat walked into the classroom and took his regular seat in the back, next to Nathaniel. Adrien was already sitting in the front of the classroom, fidgeting in his seat and rubbing his finger.  
_What's eating him?_ Pat thought as he got out his notebook. Pat looked up at the front of the room where Miss Bustier was writing the day's topic on the blackboard, when Marinette burst through the door and raced into her seat.  
"Calm down, Marinette," Alya said, "you're not even late today."  
"I'm not?" Marinette said.  
"I know, it's a first." Alya said, and Marinette chuckled.

After class, everyone made their way for the door as normal, Adrien still looking anxious. Pat was about to go through the door, but was stopped by Marinette.  
"Does something seem... off about Adrien?" Marinette asked.  
"Yeah, I was wondering what's up with that." Pat answered.  
"You think something happened?"  
"That'd be my first thought." Pat said, fidgeting with his bracelet before looking off to the side.  
"Something on your mind?"  
"Oh, I was just remembering, something that happened recently."  
"What is it?"  
"Well, remember when you gave Adrien that umbrella the other day, and he didn't get the point?" Pat asked.  
"Yeah." Marinette sighed.  
"Well, after school that day, I kind of started to lead him on."  
"You told him I liked him?" Marinette shouted as quietly as she could.  
"Not directly, but..." Pat trailed off and sighed, "yeah, basically. I'm sorry, I should realized how invasive that was."  
"It's okay, I guess." Marinette said, twirling her hair nervously, "At the very least, there's nothing we can do about it now. But you think that might be-"  
"Maybe, but like I said, that was a few days ago, and he didn't start acting weird until today."  
"So... what did he say, when you told him?" she asked.  
"I... I shouldn't say. I've already overstepped one boundary."  
"I get that, I guess." Marinette looked at the time on her phone, "Oh, we should probably get to our next class." Marinette went out the door and down the stairs.

Later that day, Marinette stepped through the door into the bakery, where her mother Sabine was working the register.  
"Hey, Mom." Marinette said, "Mind if I help out?"  
"Of course, Marinette." Sabine said, "Your father seems like he could use some assistance, could you man the register while I go help him?"  
"Sure." Marinette went behind the counter and started helping the first customer in line, while Sabine went into the back of the store.  
"Okay," she said, "one box of macaroons, that'll be €20." The man handed Marinette a €20 note, which she put into the register. She turned back to the line and saw Master Fu looking up at her from the other side of the counter.  
"Oh, uh, hi, how can I help you?" she said.  
"Just one baguette for today." he said.  
"Right on it." Marinette said before she went over to grab a baguette out of a bin. She handed the loaf to Master Fu, and he handed her a folded up banknote. Marinette opened the register and unfolded the note, but found a small scrap of paper inside.  
"Come to my shop as soon as you can." it read, "It's urgent." In place of a signature, there was only a drawing of a turtle shell. Marinette pocketed the message and put the banknote into the register.

Master Fu sat at a desk with a phonograph on it, sipping a cup of green tea while Wayzz hovered in front of him. He heard the door open, and saw Wayzz nod subtly.  
"Hello, Ladybug." he said before turning around in his chair to see Marinette standing in front of him.  
"Master Fu, what's going on?" she said as she took a seat on the floor.  
"Your kwami has sensed something wrong," Master Fu said, "is that correct?" Before Marinette could speak, Tikki phased out of her purse and flew up to Master Fu.  
"I did." she said, "What is it?"  
"Wayzz tells me that the Cat Miraculous has gone dormant." Master Fu explained.  
"What does that mean?" Marinette asked.  
"It means that Cat Noir has been separated from his Miraculous by some willful force."  
"You mean someone stole it from him?"  
"It's either that, or he gave it up willingly-"  
"Cat Noir would never give up his power like that!" Marinette said.  
"I know, Marinette." Master Fu assured, "That's why I called you here. I fear that Hawk Moth may have taken the Miraculous."  
"Well what can we do now?" she asked. Master Fu stood up and walked towards the window.  
"I'm afraid our options are limited. At least, those options that wouldn't compromise Cat Noir's identity."  
"Well, if someone took the Miraculous, they'd certainly know who he is already. What's left to lose?"  
"I suppose that is true." Master Fu turned to Marinette, "I believe the first place you should investigate is the Agreste Mansion."  
"The Agreste Mansion?" Marinette said, "I thought that after the Collector incident we decided that Gabriel couldn't be Hawk Moth."  
"I said it was highly improbable. Not impossible." Master Fu took a seat in front of Marinette, and handed her his phone. On the screen was a page from the spellbook about Hawk Moth.  
"What does it say?" Marinette asked.  
"Right here," Master Fu pointed to a piece of coded text under a painting of a purple butterfly, "it says here that an akuma will continue to persist, even when Hawk Moth is not transformed or separated from his Miraculous. The only way to undo the enchantment is for Hawk Moth to recall it himself, or for Ladybug to purify the butterfly."  
"So?"  
"It also says here," Master Fu pointed towards another line of text, "that the one who wields the Miraculous cannot be akumatized."  
"So he can't akumatize himself, that proves-"  
"Not strictly. Remember, only the one who _wields_ the Miraculous cannot be akumatized, and the akuma will persist even after the Miraculous is separated from its wielder." Master Fu explained.  
"Wait, are you saying he could've made the akuma, renounced his Miraculous, and then akumatized himself?" Marinette said.  
"Exactly." he said, taking back his phone.  
"Well, I'm gonna call Sidewinder and investigate." Marinette said.  
"Be careful," Master Fu warned, "you remember what would happen if Hawk Moth obtained both Miraculous."  
"Right." Marinette ran out of the room, Tikki close behind.

Pat slammed his physics textbook closed on his desk.  
"Okay, Rattle." Pat said, "Ready to go for a run?" The green snake kwami poked his head out of a hole in a pomegranate, a seed in his mouth. He swallowed the seed whole and nodded.  
"Great. Rattle, fangs out!" Pat crossed his right arm in front of his chest, presenting his bracelet to Rattle. Rattle slithered through the air and curled around Pat's wrist, fusing with the bracelet and turning it into a pale green ouroboros with black diamonds. He slid his hand down his face, creating a snake-like mask and turning his eyes yellow. Pat then ran his hand down his other arm, and a green sleeve with the same diamond pattern appeared. He repeated on the other arm, and then slid his hands over each other across his chest, causing the rest of the costume to appear on his torso, and then his legs. A rattle appeared on his hip, and Sidewinder flicked his forked tongue past his new fangs. He ran towards the open window and jumped out, shooting a grappling hook from his rattle into the wall of a nearby building. He pulled himself up onto the roof of the building, and heard a beeping noise from his rattle. He pressed the trigger, causing the rattle to extend and reveal a screen with an envelope icon on it.  
_A message?_ Sidewinder thought as he tapped the icon and put the rattle to his ear.  
"Sidewinder, Ladybug." a familiar voice said through the speaker, "There's an urgent situation, meet me at the Agreste Mansion ASAP." The message ended.  
"Well, I guess it's time for an adventure." Sidewinder said as he shot his grappling hook into the distance, pulling him towards another building. He shot it again, and swung down through an alleyway, the wind sweeping through his wiry brown hair as the mansion appeared on the horizon. He released the grappling hook and flew with his momentum right over another rooftop, which he fired the grappling hook into and pulled himself down. Sidewinder ran across the roof and leapt over to the next building over, then to the next building and the next again. The mansion was now only two streets away. Sidewinder shot his rattle straight at the rooftop and retracted the string, causing him to swing in an arc until he shot up above the roof level and had to pull himself back down with another shot. Once he got returned to his feet, he pressed the trigger on his rattle, turning it into a phone, and tapped the Ladybug icon. He put the phone to his ear.  
"I'm on the roof of the mansion," he said, "where are you?"  
"Turn around." she said. Sidewinder turned around and saw Ladybug standing a little ways down the balcony. Sidewinder put away his rattle phone and ran over to Ladybug.  
"What's the problem, Ladybug?" Sidewinder asked.  
"Cat Noir's Miraculous has been stolen." Ladybug explained.  
"What?! How?" Sidewinder exclaimed.  
"Don't know." she said, "All I know is that all the clues point to this mansion."  
"How? I mean, I've seen a lot of people speculate that Gabriel Agreste might be Hawk Moth, but that theory was shot down after he was akumatized."  
"True, it doesn't seem likely that he'd be able to akumatize himself, but it's not impossible." Ladybug countered, "Why, do you have another idea?" Sidewinder stood still, folding his hands and propping the bridge of his nose against his fingers, but no words escaped his mouth.  
"That's what I thought." Ladybug said.  
"It's the only lead we got," Sidewinder admitted, "we might as well follow it."  
"I'll go in, see if I can find anything suspicious."  
"Wait," Sidewinder said, "if Hawk Moth already has Cat's Miraculous, then all he needs now is yours to get what he wants, which I can't imagine is any good."  
"Uh, yeah?" Ladybug said, "I thought that was pretty well established."  
"So, we need to prioritize keeping your Miraculous out of his hands above everything else."  
"Are you telling me that I shouldn't do my job because Hawk Moth could get my Miraculous?"  
"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty bad." Sidewinder conceded, "Still, I think it'd be better if I handled the more dangerous stuff." Sidewinder hooked his rattle over the rail of the balcony and descended down to a second floor window.  
"Sidewinder, wait up!" Ladybug shouted down as Sidewinder pushed the window open with his foot. Ladybug descended on her yo-yo string and followed him into the mansion's foyer. Sidewinder pushed the window shut and looked around. No one else is in the foyer to see them.  
"Oddly empty." Sidewinder noted.  
"Not surprised," Ladybug said, "it's during work hours, and Adrien and his bodyguard are off at his basketball practice."  
"Ah, okay, that would expla-" Sidewinder stopped short, "How would you know where Adrien is?" Ladybug giggled nervously and scratched the back of her neck.  
"I, uh, checked the fan sites to, uh, figure out when the, uh, best time to, uh, investigate was?" Ladybug lied. Sidewinder glanced at her in confusion, but shrugged it off.  
"Anyway," Ladybug continued, "I'll take the second floor, you handle the ground floor."  
"Right." Sidewinder jumped off the balcony and tiptoed to the door to the left of the large staircase. He pushed the door open a crack and peeked through. On the other side was a vacant dining room. He slipped through the door and closed it silently. He looked down at his feet, and noticed that the floor he was standing on was decorated with white circles inscribed with black four-pointed stars.  
_That's an odd design choice._ he thought, _Whatever, I'm sure I'm just looking at it wrong. Besides it's not important to the mission. I need to find clues about Hawk Moth._ And then something changed. Sidewinder took notice of the points where the points of the stars met, and saw that the lens shapes made by the white parts of the circles also met at those points, creating the shape of butterflies. Sidewinder snapped some photographs of the floor, when suddenly he heard the creak of the door beside him. He raced underneath the table, and saw a pair of red-clad legs on the other side of the door. After a tense five seconds, the door closed, and Sidewinder peeked his head out. The coast was clear. He crawled out and stood up. He walked over to the door, and cracked the door open even more slightly than the last one. On the other side, Sidewinder saw Gabriel standing in front of a painting of a woman in gold. He pressed his fingers against the painting at various points at once, and disappeared into the floor. Sidewinder pulled the door shut and ran the other way to the foyer. He took out his rattle and called Ladybug.  
"What is it, Sidewinder?" she said over the phone.  
"I was just looking in Gabriel's atelier," Sidewinder said, "and it looks like he has some hidden elevator in the floor."  
"Really?" she asked.  
"Yeah, it was something out of a movie or something." he said, "And also, I got this picture here." Sidewinder took the rattle from his ear and pulled up the picture of the flooring, and sent it to Ladybug.  
"What am I looking at?" Ladybug said.  
"Look where the vertices of the astroids meet, and look at how the lenses interact at those poi-"  
"French, please?" Ladybug said, "You're not dictating a geometry textbook." Sidewinder sighed.  
"The white parts of the circles, when four of them meet up, they create-"  
"I see it now!" she said, "Butterflies, just like his brand logo."  
"Exactly." Sidewinder said, "I think you were onto something with this lead. I'll come back and investigate tonight."  
"Not without me." Ladybug said, "This is Hawk Moth we're talking about."  
"Exactly, and if he gets his hands on your Miraculous, then-"  
"I get it, Sidewinder. Protecting my Miraculous should be our highest priority. That doesn't mean I should sit at home doing nothing while you get yourself killed!"  
"But I-" Sidewinder paused, "Well- I suppose you're right."  
"Good. Now let's get out of here." Ladybug commanded, "We'll meet back up here at 10." Ladybug hung up, and Sidewinder put the rattle on his hip. He ran up the stairs and jumped out the window, just as a silver limousine drove up to the front of the mansion. Adrien stepped out of the car and shuffled towards the front steps, rubbing the pale band on his right finger.  



	8. Serpent Noir (Finale Part 2)

It was night time again. The moon had waned completely, leaving the stars as the only light in the sky. Ladybug landed on the roof of the Agreste Mansion, and took out her yo-yo phone.  
"Sidewinder, I'm at the mansion," she said, "where are you?" Her question was not answered by a voice on the phone, but a rattling sound behind her. Ladybug turned around with a start and saw Sidewinder emerge from the shadows.  
"Glad you could make it." Sidewinder said, "I'm gonna go in."  
"Not without me." Ladybug insisted, "If Hawk Moth shows up, you're going to need me to make sure you don't get killed."  
"If Hawk Moth gets your Miracu-"  
"Okay, I've had it with that." Ladybug said, "You can't face Hawk Moth on your own, it's a risk we have to take!"  
"Look, if things go wrong, I can just send you a distress signal." Sidewinder held up his rattle and pressed the trigger in an S.O.S. pattern, causing Ladybug's yo-yo to vibrate in the same pattern. Ladybug opened the yo-yo and saw a teal blip on the map right next to her's, blinking red.  
"Fine." Ladybug said, "But the moment things go south, let me know."  
"Right." Sidewinder said before jumping down and kicking open the window. He landed in the first level of the foyer, and went into the dining room. The remains of a single dinner plate sat on the table, the strangely familiar aroma of Camembert cheese tinging the air. Sidewinder returned his focus to the mission at hand, and poked his head through the atelier door. No one was in the room, but there was a single camera pointed at the painting.  
_Shoot,_ he thought, _can't let that see me._ Sidewinder aimed his rattle carefully, and fired a grappling hook at the camera. The camera's base broke off the wall, and it clattered to the ground. Sidewinder creeped through the door, turning on the lights as he went, and approached the massive portrait.  
_Now let's see, how did he do this?_ Sidewinder felt around the painting, and before long found a slight crack along one of the brush strokes. He felt around further, and discovered that it was a button.  
_Paydirt!_ He felt around some more, and found another button, and another, then three more on the other side. Sidewinder closed his eyes, and replayed the scene in his head.

_He pressed his fingers against the painting at various points at once, and disappeared into the floor._  
  
Sidewinder pushed every button simultaneously, and the floor descended beneath him. The elevator carried him deep below the mansion, beyond even the regular basement, down into a deep dark catacomb. He took a step off the platform, and a row of lights came on, revealing a long metal catwalk, leading to a gigantic butterfly-shaped window.  
"I don't believe it." Sidewinder whispered. He took a small step forward, then another, and he proceeded down the catwalk, and on the other side he found a fan-shaped arrangement of blue and green flowers, surrounding a six-foot long pine box. Sidewinder reached for the lid, but stayed his hand, knowing full well what he would find inside. Instead, he placed it on top of the box, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a whole minute. A minute to contemplate, a minute to wonder, and a minute to accept. Upon the sixtieth second, he removed his hand from the casket and took another look around, and found another round platform on the floor off to the left, underneath a framed portrait of Gabriel and Adrien, standing together in all black. Sidewinder stepped onto the platform and looked around.  
_Now how does this one work?_ he thought. He looked back up at the photo, and gently pried the side of the frame away from the wall. The frame opened like a door, and revealed a purple button with a black butterfly symbol on it. Sidewinder pushed the button, and the platform rose up. Sidewinder found himself in a large dark chamber. He was unable to see, but he heard the fluttering of butterfly wings.  
_This must be the place._ he thought as he grabbed the rattle off his hip. He pressed the trigger, and it transformed into its phone mode, with the screen providing a small amount of illumination. Sure enough, he saw butterflies all around, on the floor, and in the air. He also saw a pedestal in the distance, with a small white box on it. Sidewinder tiptoed over to the pedestal. He reached out for the box, but took a look over his shoulder first. He placed his fingers on the sides of the box, and slowly lifted it off the pedestal. Mercifully, nothing happened. He breathed a sigh of relief, and opened the box up. Inside he saw the black ring he had come to recognize over the course of his many adventures with Cat Noir. He set the box back down on the pedestal and raised his hand to the phone screen, when suddenly a massive aperture opened in front of him, letting the light of the stars and the city shine on him.  
"Impressive work, Sidewinder." an all-too familiar voice said behind him, "I must say I'm surprised you were able to make it this far." Sidewinder turned around and saw Hawk Moth standing behind him, leaning on his cane and smiling menacingly. "Unfortunately, this is the end of the line for you." Sidewinder raised his rattle, and pressed the trigger three times in rapid succession.

Then a red and black blur. Then a scream. Then a gloved hand grabbing at a black spotted earring. Then terror beyond imagination.

Sidewinder returned to reality, and snapped his arm down, extending the rattle into its saber form.  
"It doesn't have to be like this, Mr. Agreste." Sidewinder said, "We both know you're better than this."  
"You know nothing about me, Sidewinder." Hawk Moth said, "You don't even know the danger you're facing." Sidewinder raised the rattle-saber to his face and glared past it at Hawk Moth.  
"Try me." Sidewinder said. Hawk Moth lifted his cane from the floor and tossed it into the air slightly, catching it at a lower point.  
"Very well then." Hawk Moth said. The two charged at each other, and Sidewinder swung his saber at Hawk Moth, who deflected it with a swipe of his cane. Hawk Moth swung his cane at Sidewinder, striking him in the neck and knocking him to the floor. Sidewinder stood back up and swung his rattle, pressing the trigger as he did so. The rattle string cracked like a whip and wrapped around Hawk Moth's cane, but Hawk Moth yanked the rope and pulled Sidewinder back down. Sidewinder retracted the rattle string and took aim at Hawk Moth. He fired the end out at his legs, but he jumped out of the way. Sidewinder pressed the trigger again, opening the grappling hook, which embedded into the chamber wall. With another press of the trigger, he was pulled into the wall, away from Hawk Moth. Sidewinder then released the hook and pushed back off. He extended the rattle into the saber, and swung at Hawk Moth, finally landing a hit to the chest. Hawk Moth stumbled backwards, but didn't fall. Sidewinder landed behind Hawk Moth, and whipped the rattle towards his leg. The string wrapped around Hawk Moth's leg, and Sidewinder gave a solid yank. Hawk Moth dug his heel into the floor, however, and Sidewinder only succeeded in pulling himself back down. He stood up and raced at Hawk Moth with his saber, but Hawk Moth swung his cane at Sidewinder, striking him right in the head and causing him to fall to the ground. Sidewinder tried to stand up, but quickly lost balance and collapsed. He reached up to his forehead, where the cane had struck him. The spot was very tender, and already beginning to swell. He brought his fingers down to his eye level, and found his vision starting to blur. He could still see clearly enough, however, to witness Hawk Moth walk up to him and place his foot on Sidewinder's chest.  
"It was a pleasure fighting with you," he said as he twisted the top of his cane, "but the time for fun and games is over." Hawk Moth pulled on the cane top, revealing a long, thin sword blade, which he ran up Sidewinder's armored suit until he reached the underside of Sidewinder's jaw, the very end of the jugular vein. Sidewinder began sweating profusely, his hands trembling as a million thoughts rushed through his head. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Hawk Moth raised the blade up over his head, when Sidewinder suddenly heard a rattle. His eyes darted to the side, and he saw his rattle shaking on its own, the two fang-like grappling hooks extended. Sidewinder glanced back up and smirked.  
"You shouldn't have tread on me." Sidewinder said as he swung his rattle at Hawk Moth, leaving two small scrapes on his chin. Hawk Moth brought a finger to his chin, and saw a small amount of blood when he removed it.  
"All that for a drop of blood?" Hawk Moth teased as he began to swing his blade.

But then he stopped.

Hawk Moth's arm seized up. He started to turn his head to look at it, but found his neck had seized up as well.  
"What's... happening?" he grunted as he lost all sensation in his legs.  
_Paralyzing venom, _Sidewinder thought, _extreme, but effective._ He grabbed onto Hawk Moth's leg and used it to push Hawk Moth away from him. Once freed, Sidewinder ran in the opposite direction of Hawk Moth, and pressed the trigger on his rattle in the SOS pattern. The diamonds on his bracelet blinked red, signaling that the message was sent. Once he saw this, Sidewinder looked back at Hawk Moth, whose arm was trembling, the sword still in his hand. Before long, his arm started to move again, and he inserted the sword back into the cane, which he used to help himself slowly stand back up.  
"I don't know... what you did back there..." he said, "but you're going to pay for it!" Hawk Moth ran at Sidewinder and swung his cane, but Sidewinder bent over backwards and the cane missed. He grabbed the cane and swung it himself, unbalancing Hawk Moth and sending him stumbling aside. Sidewinder extended his rattle's string and swung it at Hawk Moth, who knocked it aside with his cane. Sidewinder charged at Hawk Moth, but found himself struggling to maintain his balance. He tried to hit Hawk Moth with his rattle, but missed and instead found himself running shoulder first into a wall. He looked back at Hawk Moth. His vision was starting to blur again, but he could still see Hawk Moth approaching him. Suddenly they both heard the sound of glass breaking and turned to see Ladybug swinging in through a pane of the window, now broken into smithereens. Ladybug did a tuck and roll and threw her yo-yo at Hawk Moth, striking him square in the face. This gave Sidewinder the opportunity to run away from Hawk Moth and towards Ladybug.  
"So you tried going it solo." Ladybug said as the yo-yo returned to her hand.  
"Not one of my brighter moments." Sidewinder admitted, rubbing his temple, "I think I actually got a concussion."  
"Oh, you're going to have much worse than that when I'm finished with you." Hawk Moth said. He charged towards Ladybug, holding his cane out to the side.  
"Get back!" Ladybug said, and Sidewinder leaped away from Hawk Moth and landed in a dive roll. He waved his rattle over his temple, and his vision started to clear. He looked back in Ladybug's direction, and saw her in a tug-of-war against Hawk Moth, her yo-yo string wrapped around his cane. Sidewinder tried to stand up, but lost his balance once again. He waved the rattle over his forehead again, and managed to stand back up. Sidewinder extended his rattle string and swung it at Hawk Moth, wrapping it around his ankle again. Sidewinder pulled as hard as he could, and Hawk Moth fell on his back. The rattle string unwrapped itself and retracted, and Sidewinder ran towards Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth swung his cane, and Ladybug caught it with her yo-yo string, but she ended up getting pulled to the ground as Hawk Moth struck Sidewinder in the leg. Hawk Moth stood back up and walked over to Ladybug. He drew his sword once again and raised it, but he soon found his arm restrained. He turned and saw Sidewinder, still lying on the ground, but with his rattle string wrapped around Hawk Moth's wrist. Ladybug stood back up and punched Hawk Moth in the face. Hawk Moth jerked his arm forward, sending Sidewinder flying through the air. He struck the wall back-first and fell to the floor. He retracted his rattle string and stood back up. With his arm now free, Hawk Moth swung his sword at Ladybug, who instinctively raised her arm in front of her face. The blade cut right through the mesh fabric, leaving an incision in the skin underneath. He swung at her again, but she ducked and kicked him back. Once he was out of the way, she winced and grabbed at her arm. She gasped at the sight of the cut in what was supposed to be an indestructible suit. Sidewinder stood back up and extended his rattle into saber mode. He ran at Hawk Moth and struck him in the head, sending him stumbling back. Sidewinder ran up and hit him again, pushing him back even further past the broken window. He thrust the saber at Hawk Moth's stomach, knocking him to his back next to the pedestal. Ladybug walked over to Sidewinder, and they idly bumped fists. Hawk Moth grabbed onto the pedestal and pulled himself back up.  
"I'm impressed," Hawk Moth said, "You've lasted longer than I expected. I guess it's true what they say, two are better than one. But fortunately for me, I also have the power of two." Hawk Moth reached over to the pedestal, and grabbed the white box. He opened it up and removed the black ring.  
"Sidewinder, the ring!" Ladybug yelled. Sidewinder ran at Hawk Moth and tackled him to the floor. He grabbed onto the ring in Hawk Moth's hand, and they tussled for a moment before Hawk Moth threw Sidewinder off of him. Hawk Moth stood back up.  
"Now, where was I?" he said as he motioned to put on the ring. However, he looked down to see that, to his surprise, there was no ring in his hand. Sidewinder looked at his own hand and saw the ring in his palm. Without hesitation, Sidewinder slid the ring onto his finger. Instantly, the ring turned from black to silver, and the cat paw symbol on the bezel disappeared as the cat kwami flew out of the ring.  
"Finally!" Plagg said, "I've been stuck in there all day!"  
"You're Cat Noir's kwami, right?" Sidewinder asked.  
"Yep, name's Plagg." he replied.  
"Nice to meet you." Sidewinder said, "How do I use the ring?"  
"Claws out." Plagg said.  
"Gotcha. Plagg, claws out!" Plagg flew into the ring, and Sidewinder was surrounded by a green glow. When the glow faded, the colors of Sidewinder's costume had been reversed, and a belt had appeared around his waist, the excess length forming a cat-like tail. His hair had gone from being neatly combed back to being tangled and curled, like a nest of snakes around a pair of feline ears. Sidewinder looked down at his hands and saw that each finger was now tipped with a metal claw.  
"Awesome!" Sidewinder shouted, "I'm... Serpent Noir. Yeah, Serpent Noir." Serpent Noir reached around to his back and grabbed the metal shaft holstered above his tail. He pressed the cat paw symbol on it, and it extended into a long staff. He ran towards Hawk Moth and swung his staff, which Hawk Moth blocked with his cane. Serpent Noir grabbed onto the other side of the staff, however, and thrust it against Hawk Moth's chest, causing him to fall over.  
"You miss having this around, m'lady?" Serpent Noir asked.  
"I get what you're trying to do, Sidewinder," she said, "but please never do it again."  
"Yes," Hawk Moth said, "it's irritating enough when Adrien does it."  
"Adrien?" Ladybug said, "Adrien is Cat Noir?!"  
"Why do you think I was able to get the ring so easily?" Hawk Moth asked, "I was amazed by it myself. But I'm sure I'll be equally amazed to see who you two are." Hawk Moth swung his cane at Serpent Noir, but Ladybug caught it with her yo-yo string.  
"Sidewinder, grab his Miraculous!" Ladybug commanded, and Serpent Noir lunged for Hawk Moth's brooch. Hawk Moth, however, swatted him away with his free hand, knocking him to the floor. Hawk Moth turned back to Ladybug and yanked on his cane, flinging Ladybug through the air. Serpent Noir saw this and extended his staff straight upwards. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the staff, the string coiling around it, and slingshot herself feet first back at Hawk Moth, knocking him to the floor. Hawk Moth quickly returned to his feet.  
"What's it going to take to beat this guy?" Serpent Noir asked.  
"He's got to tire out eventually." Ladybug said.  
"Until then we just gotta keep fighting." Serpent Noir grabbed the rattle off his hip and connected it to the end of the staff. He pressed the trigger, and the rattle string extended, turning into a flail. He ran towards Hawk Moth, spinning the flail as he went, and swung it at his head. Hawk Moth ducked, however, and drew the sword from his cane. He swung it at Serpent Noir's ankle, leaving a deep gash. Serpent Noir instantly collapsed in pain, clutching his leg and dropping his flail. He grabbed for the rattle, but Hawk Moth waggled his finger and picked up the flail, tossing it further away.  
"It won't be long now before the Cat Miraculous is mine again," Hawk Moth said, "and maybe even the Snake for good measure. As for Ladybug," Hawk Moth strode over to Ladybug, blade outstretched, "I won't have much trouble taking care of you, now that your partners are taken care of." Ladybug backed away from Hawk Moth, only to find herself against the wall of the chamber. He drew the blade back for a stab, when suddenly he heard a voice.  
"Get away from her, father!" it shouted. All eyes turned to the direction of the noise. Adrien stood on the elevator platform, glaring at Hawk Moth.


	9. Ladybug, Cat Noir & Sidewinder (Finale Part 3)

"You stay out of this, Adrien." Hawk Moth said, "I don't want you getting hurt."  
"It's too late for that." Adrien said. He walked past Hawk Moth over to Serpent Noir, whose foot was now surrounded by a pool of blood. He grabbed the flail off the ground and presented it to him. "It looks like you could use this."  
"Thanks." Serpent Noir grunted as he grabbed the long shaft, "And it looks like you could use this." Serpent Noir removed the ring from his finger and turned back into Sidewinder. He handed the ring over to Adrien, who took it instantly. Sidewinder waved the rattle over the gash in his ankle, and the bleeding finally stopped. Adrien slid the ring onto his finger, and Plagg flew out.  
"Adrien!" the kwami said, "Am I glad to see you. Been doing alright since I left?"  
"Save it, Plagg," Adrien said, "I have a score to settle. Claws out." Plagg was sucked back into the ring, and with no theatrics at all, Adrien turned into Cat Noir. Sidewinder waved his rattle again, and the swelling in his leg subsided. One last wave, and the skin closed up completely, as if it had never been touched by a blade.  
"Well look at that," Sidewinder said as he returned to his feet, "the gang's all together again, Hawk Moth."  
"Perhaps," Hawk Moth said, "but not for long." He thrust his sword towards Ladybug, when suddenly the blade was caught in a black string. Sidewinder yanked the blade as hard as he could, and it clattered to the ground at his feet.  
"Not so tough now, huh?" Ladybug said as she punched Hawk Moth in the face. Hawk Moth fell to the floor, giving Ladybug the opportunity to get away from him.  
"So Cat, I gotta ask," Sidewinder said, "how did you even find all this?"  
"Well, when I lost my Miraculous this morning, I didn't know what could've happened." he said, "It wasn't anywhere in my room, but the mansion is set to make sure everyone inside knows there's a robbery before even the robber knows, so no one could've broken in. But then it just hit me, someone inside the mansion had to have stolen it. And, well, there was only one suspect at that point. From there, it was just a matter of finding some buttons."  
"You always were a bright young man, Adrien." Hawk Moth said, "I don't want to hurt you, so just give me the Miraculous, and that can be the end of it."  
"I'm sorry, father, but I can't do that." Cat Noir said.  
"Then I'm afraid I have no choice." Hawk Moth took a deep breath and ran towards Cat Noir, who extended his staff and swung it at him. Hawk Moth caught the end of it and used it to twist Cat Noir's arm, forcing him to the ground. Hawk Moth reached for Cat Noir's ring, but his hand was suddenly caught in Sidewinder's rattle string.  
"Mr. Agreste, don't you see what you're doing?" Sidewinder said.  
"I'm doing what I have to do, no more." Hawk Moth said, causing Sidewinder to pull even harder. Cat Noir saw this opportunity and kicked Hawk Moth in the gut, knocking him off. He stood up and grabbed for Hawk Moth's brooch, but Hawk Moth grabbed onto Cat Noir's wrist and threw him across the room. Ladybug swung her yo-yo in a circle and ran towards Hawk Moth. She threw the yo-yo at him, but he just caught it in his hand and pulled her to the ground.  
"Now to take what's mine." Hawk Moth said as he reached for Ladybug's ear. Before he could even touch her earring, however, his arm was struck by Cat Noir's staff, giving Ladybug the chance to stand up and run away. Hawk Moth started to run towards Ladybug, but Sidewinder leaped over his head and kicked him in the face, propelling himself towards Ladybug. Sidewinder landed beside her, gasping for breath.  
"I don't know how much more of this I can take." Sidewinder said. "The sooner we can end this, the better."  
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted as she threw her yo-yo into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that all congregated together. When the swarm dispersed, a red frame with black spots fell into Ladybug's hand.  
"A picture frame?" Ladybug asked, turning over the frame in her hand, revealing a photograph of a blonde haired woman with green eyes like Adrien. Ladybug instantly recognized not only the woman, but the photograph.

_Ladybug stood in Adrien's room, waiting for him to exit his personal bathroom. As she paced the floor, she caught sight of the picture on Adrien's desktop, a beautiful young woman with the same blonde hair and green eyes as him, in a blue tank top against a grassy field background._  
"My mother," Adrien said, startling Ladybug, "on her 17th birthday. She was pretty, huh?"  
"She's got your smile." The two observed in unison. The two both jumped at their simultaneous speech, and then blushed.

_ It's his wife._ Ladybug realized, looking back and forth between the photograph and Hawk Moth, who was presently tussling with Cat Noir over their respective Miraculous.  
"Do you think this is what she would've wanted?" Ladybug shouted at him. The two stopped fighting and looked over at her simultaneously. Ladybug set the frame on the floor and kicked it over to Hawk Moth, who approached the frame without hesitation.  
"Emilie..." he muttered.  
"Now!" Ladybug shouted as she threw her yo-yo, wrapping it around Hawk Moth's left wrist at the same time that Sidewinder shot out his rattle, which curled around his other wrist. The two turned to each other and nodded in unison, before pulling Hawk Moth down to his knees.  
"Cat Noir, seize his Miraculous!" Sidewinder called.  
"With pleasure." Cat Noir reached over Hawk Moth's shoulder and removed the butterfly brooch from his collar. Instantly, his purple and black suit disappeared, and he reverted back to Gabriel Agreste.  
"It's finally over." Ladybug said.  
"Thank you." whispered a disembodied, high-pitched voice.  
"You're... welcome?" Cat Noir said.  
"Now," Sidewinder said, "What do we do with father of the year over here?"  
"I say we take him to the police." Ladybug said, "Let them decide what to do."  
"I like that idea." Cat Noir said.  
"No," Gabriel said, "you don't understand."  
"What is there to not understand?" Sidewinder asked, "Because the way I understand it, you've been terrorizing the city for the past year by turning innocent people into monsters just so you could get your hands on a couple magic gems. And the way I understand it, that's wrong."  
"Please, listen-"  
"No. You're the one who needs to listen." Sidewinder said, "Listen to all the people you've hurt. Listen to all the people who have nearly been killed because of you, or worse, the ones who have nearly killed the ones they love thanks to you, and have to live with those memories forever now. Why?"  
"For her." Gabriel said, looking back down at the photograph.  
"For... for Mom?" Cat Noir said, "What do you mean?"  
"Anyone who wields both the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous would gain ultimate power," Ladybug said, "and be able to shape reality, to make any wish come true."  
"Even a wish to bring someone back from the dead?" Sidewinder asked.  
"Yes." Ladybug confirmed.  
"Wait, she's... dead?" Cat Noir asked.  
"I'm so sorry, Adrien..." Gabriel said.  
"You told me that she just disappeared!" Cat Noir said, "Do you know how many nights I stayed up, hoping she'd come back?!"  
"It's true, Cat." Sidewinder said, "In the basement, by the elevator... did you see the casket?"  
"The casket?" he said, "I...I never noticed. I was too focused on..." Tears began to well up in Cat Noir's eyes.  
"I should have told you," Gabriel said, "but... there are some things she told me never to tell you."  
"Like what?!" Cat Noir cried, "What was so important that I not find out that it was worth lying to me about what happened? WHAT?!"  
"Adrien, remember when your mother and I went to Tibet two years ago?" Gabriel asked.  
"Y-yeah?" Cat Noir responded.  
"And how after we got back, crime in Paris reached an all-time low?"  
"Father, what are you talking about?" Cat Noir said.  
"While your mother and I were in Tibet, hiking through the mountains, we discovered the ruins of a lost temple." Gabriel recalled, "It was almost completely destroyed, but we found three things that had survived. The book, and two brooches, one shaped like a peacock, and the other like a butterfly. When she tried on the peacock brooch, it started to glow, and then a fairy-like creature appeared.  
"It said its name was Duusu, and that the brooch was the Peacock Miraculous. And then Duusu told Emilie that, if she wore the brooch, she would be granted special powers. Emilie, of course, being the adventurous woman she was, wanted to use the Miraculous to help people, and so we brought it home, along with the book and the Butterfly Miraculous."  
"Mom... was a superhero?" Cat Noir said.  
"It must be in her blood." Gabriel remarked, "Remember the nights when she left the house after dinner, and didn't come back until after you'd gone to bed? Those were the same nights that Paris was protected by the Peacock. That's how she always said it, at least. But one night... things didn't go as normal. She had gone out like any other night, but this time... she was the only target. Every criminal in Paris had heard about the Peacock, who had thwarted so many of them in the past, and they all decided it was time to bring her down. Thieves, murderers, even warring gangs had called truces so they could team up against her. Even with the Miraculous, it was too much for her, and before long... her power ran out. She was alone, defenseless, surrounded by the most evil people in the city. There was no way to stop what happened next.  
"When she still wasn't home by midnight, I knew something was wrong. By the time I found her... it was too late."  
"But father... why didn't you tell me what happened to her?"  
"She told me not to tell you about the Peacock. She knew that if her identity were to ever leak, her enemies would stop at nothing to get to her. Or worse, she was afraid you wouldn't understand how dangerous it was, and try to be like her. I guess that didn't work out so well." Gabriel choked out, "I didn't want to lie to you, Adrien, but I didn't think you were ready for the truth, so I created a tomb for her in the catacombs, and told everyone she had gone missing.  
"Sometime later, I was looking through the spellbook she found, in search of some new inspiration, when I remembered that I still had the Butterfly Miraculous. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to do with it, but I put it on, and that's when I met Nooroo, the kwami of transformation. He interpreted the coded text of the book for me-"  
"And that's how you learned about the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous." Ladybug finished, "But did Nooroo tell you about the caveat to that power? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Every wish the Miraculous grants, must come with a price. Who were you willing to sacrifice to save her?" Gabriel is silent. Sidewinder stepped forward.  
"You said... you said that Emilie used the Peacock Miraculous, right?" he asked. Gabriel nodded.

_“And your greatest power... is the Ssserpent Séanccce.” Rattle hissed once again._  
_“Ooh, what does that do?” Pat asked excitedly.  
__“It gives you the power to channel a deceasssed hero. But you can only use this power once before changing back.”_

Sidewinder pressed the trigger on his rattle, releasing Gabriel's hand, which dropped limply to his side.  
"I have an idea." he said before raising his rattle into the air, "Serpent Séance!" The rattle became charged with energy, and he brought it down in front of him. He drew an infinity sign, then grabbed the rattle with both hands and fell to his knees. He closed his eyes and his body became still.

Sidewinder opened his eyes, and found himself ankle deep in a pale green sea, gazing across an isthmus at a deep blue lake, out from which emerged a woman in blue, carrying a fan of feathers and a quill pen. Sidewinder instantly recognized her face from the portrait and the photograph.  
"Emilie Agreste?" Sidewinder said in neither English nor French, but rather in a language of hisses that he was still able to comprehend.  
"That's me." the woman responded, once again in a language of peacock sounds, "Though I was not expecting you to use that name."  
"I have come to the edge of life and death before, seeking the wisdom of past superheroes," Sidewinder explained, "but today I come seeking the wisdom of a wife and mother."  
"It's about Gabriel, isn't it?" the Peacock said, and Sidewinder nodded, "I had a feeling that after what happened, he would do something like this. He's never been very good at letting go of things."  
"It isn't easy." Sidewinder admitted.  
"No, it isn't." the Peacock agreed, "When I first arrived here, I was absolutely miserable. The idea that I wouldn't get to see Gabriel again, or that I'd miss seeing Adrien growing up, it was just unbearable. Every day, I'd ask the spirits of the Snakes to tell me how they were doing, since they're the only ones who can see beyond the barrier. But as time went on, I realized that there's nothing I can do to change what happened. But it looks like Gabriel hasn't learned that yet."  
"No, he hasn't." Sidewinder said, "Is there anything you would like for me to tell him?"  
"Tell him that I love him, but that it's time to focus on what lies ahead of him, not what lies behind him." the Peacock instructed, "And tell Adrien, that he's doing a wonderful job as Cat Noir, and that I love him, too."  
"I will." Sidewinder said, and with a single wave, the Peacock, Emilie Agreste, disappeared into the water once again.

Sidewinder awoke in the chamber, and returned to his feet.  
"Mr. Agreste," he said, "I just spoke to your wife."  
"What?" Cat Noir said.  
"My Serpent Séance allows me to communicate with the spirits of past Miraculous wielders," Sidewinder explained, "including your mom."  
"What did she say?" Cat Noir asked.  
"She told me to tell you that you're doing an amazing job as Cat Noir, and that she loves you." Cat Noir wiped a tear from his eye as Sidewinder turned back to Gabriel, "And she told me to tell you that she loves you, but it's time for you to let go of the past, and start thinking about the future."  
"Emilie..." Gabriel's thought was interrupted by an uncharacteristic bout of sobbing. Ladybug released her yo-yo string, and Cat Noir embraced Gabriel tightly. Suddenly, a bright light landed on Ladybug, and a booming voice came from outside the window.  
"This is the police!" it said, "Please cease any illegal activity and come down immediately!"  
"Okay, how did _they_ find this place?" Sidewinder asked. Ladybug took her yo-yo off her hip and opened up the screen. She checked the news app, and found a video of her swinging through the window from the outside on the front page.  
"Looks like someone saw me come in here, and figured there was trouble." Ladybug said, "Good thing no one's ever seen me go home."  
"Give me to them." Gabriel said.  
"Father, are you serious?" Cat Noir asked.  
"Don't tell me I don't deserve to go to jail over what I did."  
"But... Dad..." Gabriel looked into Cat Noir's eyes.  
"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to call me that." Gabriel said.

A crowd of police officers stood in front of a tall building, looking up at the massive butterfly shaped window. At the head of the crowd was Lt. Roger Raincomprix, who held the bullhorn in his hand.  
"Think it's Hawk Moth, sir?" one of the masked cops asked.  
"Probably, but there's still not a lot to go off of." Roger answered. The cop went over to another group of policemen when the front doors of the building opened up. Ladybug, Cat Noir and Sidewinder were all escorting Gabriel Agreste down the steps, his hands bound with his own tie.  
"What's going on here?" Roger asked.  
"Lt. Raincomprix," Ladybug said, "we've just apprehended Hawk Moth."  
"Are you trying to tell me that he's Hawk Moth?" Roger said, "Gabriel Agreste, one of the most respected men in all of Paris, has been turning innocent people into supervill-"  
"It's true, officer." Gabriel interrupted, "I'm the one to blame."  
"Oh... sorry I doubted you, Ladybug." Roger turned to the crowd of policemen behind him, "Book this guy for fifty-eight counts of... we'll figure it out at the station."  
"Just make sure my son is taken care of." Gabriel insisted.  
"We will, Mr. Agreste." Roger assured as one of the cops replaced the tie with a pair of proper handcuffs before leading him to the back seat of a cruiser. Roger turned back to the three heroes.  
"I can't thank you enough for what you've done just now." he said, "You've definitely saved me and the city a lot of trouble going forward."  
"Just doing our job, officer." Ladybug said. Then she heard a beep. And another seconds later. Sidewinder looked down at his bracelet and saw that there were only two minutes left in his transformation. He looked up, and saw that Ladybug only had three.  
"But we should probably get going now." Sidewinder said, hurriedly.  
"Oh, okay." Roger said, "Thanks again." Sidewinder shot his grappling hook at a nearby rooftop, and was pulled from the ground up into the sky. He landed on the rooftop, and saw Ladybug and Cat Noir land next to him shortly after.  
"So, I guess now's the time for us to go our separate ways." Sidewinder sighed.  
"It's been a good run." Ladybug added, "Besides, if something new shows up to attack Paris, we'll be the first ones on the scene."  
"Heck yeah, we will!" Sidewinder said, before noticing Cat Noir's long face.  
"You alright, Cat?" he asked, "I know it's kind of rough, everything that happened tonight."  
"You're telling me." Cat Noir replied, "I find out my mom's dead and that my dad's a supervillain?"  
"Just a part of life, I guess." Sidewinder said, "For what it's worth, we're here for you still."  
"He's right, Cat." Ladybug walked up to Cat Noir and took his hand, "We'll always be here for you."  
"Thanks." Cat Noir said. Then the beeping again.  
"But, for the moment, we should probably head out." Sidewinder said.  
"Yeah, see you later, Cat Noir." Ladybug walked over to the edge of the rooftop and brought her yo-yo arm back, but Cat Noir grabbed onto her wrist.  
"No," Cat Noir said, "I've had enough secrets."  
"But Cat, our identities-"  
"Actually, I think he's got a point." Sidewinder interrupted.  
"Sidewinder, no offense, but what are you talking about?" Ladybug said.  
"If we're gonna be a team, we gotta be able to trust each other." Sidewinder said, "Especially since we already both know who Cat Noir really is. How can he really be sure he can trust us with his secret if we don't trust him with ours?"  
"Sidewinder, I agree that we need to trust each other, but... we swore to never tell anyone who we were. Not even each other."  
"Look, I'm not gonna force you to do something you don't want to do," Sidewinder said, "but I'm staying here." Ladybug's earring beeped again, and she ran to hide behind a ventilation fixture. Sidewinder's bracelet beeped again, and his costume disappeared. Cat Noir's eyes widened at the sight of Pat McNeil with the snake kwami beside him.  
"Surprised?" Pat said.  
"A bit, yeah." Cat Noir admitted. They both heard the same detransform sound again, and turned to see a pink glow from behind the fixture.  
"I hope you've made a decision at this point, LB." Cat Noir said.  
"Please don't look." her voice said from the other side.  
"Like I said, not forcing you to do anything." Pat said. "You're free to leave whenever you want." Pat walked over to the edge of the rooftop. "Stars sure are pretty tonight." Cat Noir looked up at the sky.  
"Yep, they sure are." he said as he walked over beside Pat, detransforming as he went, and taking his attention away from the vent. On the other side, Marinette sat, hands jittering as she listened to the boys' idle chatter. Tikki flew up to her eye level, carrying a small cookie.  
"Come on, Marinette," she whispered, "now's your chance to finally win Adrien over."  
"I don't know, Tikki." Marinette said, "What if I'm not what he's expecting?"  
"Marinette, he's expecting Ladybug, which is exactly what you are!"  
"I suppose..." Marinette drummed her fingers for a moment.  
"Don't overthink it, Marinette. I'm sure he won't be disappointed." Tikki flew back into Marinette's purse. Marinette took a deep breath, and slowly stepped out from behind the vent.  
"You probably can't see it now," Pat said to Adrien, "but my favorite constellation is definitely Serpens."  
"Never heard of it," Adrien said, "but it definitely sounds like one you'd like." Pat chuckled.  
"What's your favorite?" he said.  
"Well, if your favorite is the snake, then I guess mine's gotta be Leo." Adrien pointed at the cluster of stars that vaguely took the shape of a lion.  
"A-Adrien..." Marinette said. Adrien turned and saw Marinette standing beside the vent fixture, smiling awkwardly.  
"Marinette?" he said, "You're..."  
"Not what you expected?" Marinette asked, her face dropping. Adrien simply strode over towards her, and placed his hand on her shoulder.  
"Marinette, if I'd known it was you this whole time, I would've..." Adrien's thought trailed off, but Marinette was able to fill in the blank.  
"You mean it?" she asked.  
"Of course." Marinette threw her arms around Adrien, and they pulled each other into a deep kiss. Time began to slow down, the ground beneath them gave way to what felt like a soft cloud, and for just one incredibly long second, the rest of the world around them disappeared. Marinette pulled away for a moment, and took a deep breath through her mouth.  
"Sorry," Adrien said, "Plagg really likes smelly cheese."  
"I just needed to catch my breath." Marinette giggled as she resumed the kiss, the two of them both so enthralled by each other's presence that they were totally oblivious to Pat sitting on the lip of the rooftop, Rattle floating next to him still.  
"Sssucks being the third wheel, huh?" Rattle said, eliciting a chuckle from Pat.  
"A little," Pat admitted, "but they seem so happy together."  
"I sssuppose." Rattle said.  
"Here," Pat said as he dug a ziplock bag of pomegranate seeds out of his backpack, "let's charge up so they can have some alone time." Pat opened the baggie, and Rattle flew in and began eagerly eating the seeds.

4:00 read the digital clock on a desk in a dark room, lit only by the blue glow of a screen, displaying a news program to a shadowy figure.  
"This is Nadja Chamack, don't be bemused, it's just the news." said the red haired anchorwoman, "In a shocking turn of events, Gabriel Agreste was apprehended last night for several counts of reckless endangerment and manslaughter as the supervillain known as Hawk Moth. Currently, few details are known, TVi will continue to investigate." The screen went black, shut off by a shadowy hand.  
"Well then," a feminine voice said, "I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands." The silhouette stood up and approached a wall. She opened a door in the wall, revealing a blue, peacock shaped brooch. She grabbed the brooch in her hand, and a blue, bird-like kwami appeared in front of her.  
"Your Miraculous is now in my control," she said, "I am your master now, and you must obey me."  
"Yes, mistress." the kwami said.  
"Duusu, dark feathers fan!"


	10. Epilogue: The Last Day of School

_What do you do when the quest is ended?  
What do you do when the battle's won?_

The room was quiet. The only light visible were minuscule sunbeams shining through the gap in the curtains. The clock on the dresser turned to 6:30, and started blaring loudly. Pat's eyes shot open, and he flung the covers off of himself. He stood up onto his feet and turned off the alarm clock. With barely a yawn, Pat pulled open a dresser drawer and grabbed a black t-shirt with a heart-shaped pipe bomb on it. As he closed the drawer, he noticed a small snake creature lying belly up on the dresser.  
"Come on, Rattle, wake up." Pat said as he poked the kwami, causing it to stir and open its slit eyes, "It's the last day of school."  
"Ssso it is." Rattle said as he began to levitate into the air.  
"I know, hard to believe it's over already." Pat pulled the shirt on over his head, "The question still remains, what'll I do with you?"  
"I'd always assssumed you'd just renounccce me when it was time to leave." Rattle said.  
"Can't say I'm surprised, you really like thinking about inevitable endings." Pat joked.  
"Though I will admit, I have grown quite accustomed to all of thisss."  
"Yeah, I'd definitely miss having you around, and being a superhero."  
"Well, take as long as you need to figure it out." Rattle said.  
"Thanks, Rattle." Pat said.

Pat raced down the stairs to the kitchen, and the smell of butter and blueberries filled his nose. He stepped through the door and saw a plate of blueberry pancakes sitting on the table across from his host father, Abram.  
"Morning, Pat." he said, "Excited about your last day at school?"  
"Of course I am, Abram." Pat took his regular seat at the table, near the pancakes.  
"Only a few more days before you go back to the land of liberty."  
"Or so they call it." Pat joked.  
"Eat your breakfast now, Pat." Candace said as she sat down between them, "Made it special for you."  
"Thanks, Candace." Pat picked up his fork and knife and cut into the stack of warm flapjacks. He put a bite into his mouth, and let the fluffy sweetness spread across his tongue, "These are amazing." Pat continued to eat, finishing the pancakes in less time than it probably should have taken. He quickly carried his dishes over to the sink, and returned to the table.  
"Hey," he said, "I just wanted to say that you have been amazing host parents."  
"Aw, thanks, Pat." Candace said as she hugged him.  
"You've been an amazing son, too, Pat." Abram assured as he patted the teen on the back.  
"Thanks." Pat said before looking at his watch, "I should probably get going, love you guys."  
"Love you too, Pat." Candace said as Pat grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

Pat strolled up the stairs to Miss Bustier's classroom. Along the way, he passed Marinette and Adrien, who were holding hands as they walked to class.  
"Hey, guys." Pat said, "Is that a new shirt?" Pat pointed at Marinette's red shirt, with a black outline of a rose on the right breast.  
"Yeah, I embroidered it myself." she replied.  
"Well, you did a great job." Pat said, "How have you been, Adrien?"  
"Alright, I guess." Adrien said.  
"Bit tough, with... everything that's going on?" Pat asked.  
"Yeah." Adrien sighed, and Marinette squeezed his hand, bringing a smile back to his face. The three of them walked into the classroom, and took their regular seats.  
"Hey, Nath." Pat said to the redhead next to him, who was tapping a pencil against an empty sketchbook page, "You alright?"  
"I'll manage." Nathaniel said, his eyes drifting over to Marinette.  
"It's hard for you to see, isn't it?" Pat asked, and Nathaniel nodded, "Hey, plenty of fish in the sea. Just gotta get you out of that cocoon of yours." Pat lightly smacked Nathaniel on the back, coaxing out a smile. Meanwhile, in the front of the room, Nino was chatting with Adrien.  
"So, what's the deal, now that your dad's..." Nino asked.  
"I... I don't know." Adrien admitted, "Technically speaking, it's Nathalie's job to take care of me, but..."  
"She as heartless as he was?" Nino asked, and Adrien nodded, "Well, if you decide you need someplace else to stay, I'm sure my 'rents would let you live with us."  
"Nino, that's really nice of you, but-"  
"Hey, nothing's too much for my bro." This got Adrien to smile.  
"Thanks, Nino." Adrien said.

Later that afternoon, Pat sat down at a secluded table in the library. He was quickly joined by Marinette and Adrien.  
"So," Pat whispered, "did you find everything?" Adrien set his bookbag on the table, and took out a large, leatherbound book, as well as two jewelry cases. Pat flipped through the pages of the book, and saw illustrations of many different superheroes, in the styles of many different eras.  
"So this is the spellbook your father mentioned?" Pat asked, and Adrien nodded, "It's really beautiful." Pat closed the book and reached for one of the jewelry cases. He opened it, and found inside it the Butterfly Miraculous, the brooch that Hawk Moth wore. He opened the other one, and found inside of it a blue and green brooch, in the shape of a peacock.  
"And this is the Peacock Miraculous?" Pat said.  
"I thought it was, at first." Adrien said, "But look on the back." Pat took the brooch out of the case and turned it around. Etched into the bare metal backside of the brooch was the signature G of the Gabriel brand.  
"A fake Miraculous?" Pat said, "Where's the real one?"  
"I don't know." Adrien said, "I looked all over the house, but couldn't find it anywhere."  
"So the Peacock Miraculous is still missing." Marinette added, "But wherever it is, these definitely need to get returned to the Guardian immediately. I'll bring it over right after school." Marinette grabbed the spellbook and put it into her backpack.  
"So, last day of school." Pat said.  
"I know, it's exciting, isn't it?" Marinette said.  
"In some ways, yes," Pat said, fidgeting with his bracelet, "but at the same time... it's kind of tough for me."  
"I know how you feel, Pat." Adrien said, "this is my first year actually attending a school. All my life before then, I was home-schooled. The only friend I had before this year was Chloe."  
"Your only friend was Chloe?" Pat said, "That must've been rough."  
"Yeah, I honestly didn't realize how mean she was until I saw her in school," Adrien said, "probably because that's the first time I've seen her around other people her age."  
"Well I'm kind of the same way about leaving." Pat said, "I have friends back in America, but I'm still pretty attached to Paris. Especially, because of this." Pat rotated his bracelet around his wrist.  
"Right, that." Marinette said.  
"I honestly don't know what I should do with it." Pat admitted.  
"Well, you could always hold onto it," Adrien suggested, "America could probably use some heroes."  
"Probably, but it's not like I live in a crime hotspot like New York City," Pat explained, "I live in the backwoods of New England."  
"I think you should return it to the Guardian," Marinette said, "he'd want the Miraculous in his reach at all times."  
"That makes sense." Pat said, "Maybe while I'm at it, I could help deliver these things to him."  
"Two birds with one stone, I like it." Marinette said.  
"Still gonna miss it, though." Pat said, "But it's what I have to do." Pat took the Butterfly Miraculous.  
"And I'll take that fake Peacock one back to the mansion," Adrien said, "no use bringing a fake Miraculous to the Guardian."  
"So, where can I find this Guardian?" Pat said. Marinette slid Pat a card with an address, phone number, and the words “Master Fu’s Chinese Healing & Massage Shop” written in gold foil.  
"Wait, I've been there before." Pat said, "In fact, yeah, I went there just before I found the bracelet in my bag." The discussion was cut short by the ringing of a bell, signalling the imminent start of class.  
"Well then," Pat said, "we should probably get moving again." The three all stood up and exited the library.

Pat stepped through the front door to the massage parlor, jingling the entry bell, and catching the attention of the old man at the front desk.  
"Ah, Monseiur Pat," Master Fu said.  
"Master Fu." Pat bowed his head slightly.  
"What brings you to my shop today?" he said.  
"I've come to return some things to you, Master." Pat said as he rummaged through his bag. He pulled out the jewelry case, and presented it to Master Fu. Fu opened the box, revealing the Butterfly Miraculous inside.  
"So, you have learned who I really am." Master Fu said.  
"Yes, Master. I trust Ladybug has come with the spellbook as well?"  
"Yes, she has." Master Fu said as he walked over to his phonograph, "Thank you for returning this to me." Master Fu pressed the two dragon eyes on the front of the machine, revealing a set of buttons. He pressed three of the buttons, and the top of the phonograph opened, revealing a large mahogany box in the shape of an octagon. He opened the top and placed the brooch inside.  
"That's not all I wanted to return to you, Master." Pat removed yet another box from his bag, like a smaller version of Master Fu's box, "I'll be leaving the country in a few days, and I decided it wouldn't be safe to bring my Miraculous with me. If it were lost or stolen, it could become lost forever, or worse fall into evil hands."  
"You have made a wise decision, Pat." Master Fu said. Pat reached for the bracelet around his wrist. He twisted it around for a second, staring at it with tearful eyes. Rattle poked his head out of Pat's collar.  
"So... I guess this is goodbye, Rattle." Pat said  
"It'sss okay, Pat." Rattle said, "Masssters come and go. All that matters is that you were one of the good ones."  
"Thanks." Pat slid the bracelet down to the heel of his hand, when suddenly they all heard a shout.  
"Master Fu!" it said. A turtle kwami flew out from the horn of Master Fu's phonograph.  
"What is it, Wayzz?" Master Fu asked.  
"I have sensed the Peacock Miraculous's aura. And it's a negative one."  
"What?" Pat said, "You mean someone's using the Peacock's power for evil?"  
"That is terrible news indeed." Master Fu said, "The Peacock Miraculous has far greater power than the Butterfly, at least on its own."  
"But it took all three of us together just to take down Hawk Moth," Pat reminded, "how are Ladybug and Cat Noir gonna have a prayer on their own?"  
"There may be one option," Master Fu returned to the box, "but I fear the consequences of a mistake." Master Fu took the Butterfly Miraculous back out of the box.  
"You're suggesting we use that?" Pat said.  
"The Butterfly Miraculous may not be as powerful as the Peacock," Master Fu said, "but when combined with the power of Ladybug and Cat Noir, it might be a match. That is, in the right hands." Master Fu turned to Pat, and approached him with the Miraculous.  
"Pat," he continued, "as Sidewinder, you have proven worthy of my trust. That is why I choose you to decide the next one to wield this power." Master Fu placed the brooch into Pat's hand.  
"But Master," Pat said, "I don't think I can handle this responsibility."  
"No one who can ever does," Master Fu assured, "and no one who does can. Choose wisely, find a soul that you know with all your heart to be capable of using this Miraculous to save us all." Pat sat in silent wondering, until suddenly an idea struck him.  
"I know just the person." Pat opened the small box and set the Butterfly brooch onto the velvet bottom. He snapped the box shut, and turned to Rattle.  
"One last ride, partner?"  
"Of courssse." Rattle said.

Nathaniel stepped through the door into his bedroom, the wastebasket overflowing with crumpled up drawings, and his desk lined edge to edge with more successful drawings. He picked the laptop up off the end of his bed and took a seat. He opened up the laptop and pulled up a web browser, when suddenly he spotted something out the corner of his eye. A dark brown octagon, sitting on top of an illustration of his Super-Nathan character. He set the laptop to his side and walked over to his desk. He picked up the wooden object and turned it in his hand for a moment, light glinting off of the golden hinges on the back.  
_What's this doing here?_ he thought as he brought it back over to his bed. He cautiously placed a hand on both the top and bottom of the box, and slowly pulled it open. The box snapped open despite his hesitance, and a ball of blinding purple light emerged from the inside of the box. Nathaniel shielded his eyes with his hand, and when the glow faded, he lowered his hand to see a fairy-like creature with butterfly wings floating in front of him. Nathaniel recoiled at the sight of the strange being.  
"Don't be scared, Nathaniel," it said, "my name is Nooroo."  
"How... how do you know my name?" Nathaniel asked.  
"I'm a kwami," Nooroo said, "and I'm hear to give you powers."  
"Powers?" Nathaniel said, "Like... like a superhero?!"  
"Yes." Nooroo said, "Or at least, as long as you want to be good."  
"Are you kidding?" Nathaniel shouted, "I've always dreamed of being a superhero!"  
"Try to keep it down," Nooroo said, "no one must no I exist."  
"Oh, sorry." Nathaniel whispered, "So... what powers will you give me?"  
"Through the Butterfly Brooch, I will grant you the power to give someone their own powers and make them your devoted follower." Nooroo explained, "My previous master... used this power for evil, but I trust you to use it to fight evil."  
"Well, this is amazing!" Nathaniel said, "But..."  
"But what, Nathaniel?"  
"I just... I don't know if I'm up to it."  
"Of course you are, Nathaniel. You're the chosen one."  
"Chosen? By who?" Nooroo is silent for a moment, but soon speaks.  
"By someone who loves this city, and sees potential in you to protect it." Nooroo said, "Someone who I trust, and someone who trusts you." Nathaniel carefully removed the brooch from the box, and pinned it to his shirt, underneath one side of his jacket, unaware of the prying yellow eyes squatting on a rooftop, looking down through the window.  
_I knew I made the right choice._ Sidewinder thought. He stood up and fired his grappling hook into the distance, which pulled him towards the side of a nearby building. He kicked off of the wall and swung up over the roof edge, landing on his feet again. He ran to the other edge and jumped off, catching himself with the grappling hook and swinging until he shot upwards into the air. He shot the grappling hook again, and pulled himself into a building wall. He fired the grappling hook again, and zipped between buildings yet again. He looked down, and saw Master Fu's shop on the next block over. Sidewinder sighed and descended down his rattle string, landing in an alleyway.  
"Rattle, fangs in." Sidewinder said, and his costume disappeared. Pat stood face to face with the snake kwami, his eyes red and his muscles tense.  
"So, I guess it's time to let go." Pat said.  
"It'sss been great fighting alongside you." Rattle said. Pat slid the silver bracelet to the heel of his hand.  
"Goodbye, Rattle." Pat gasped out.  
"Ssso long, Pat." Rattle said. Pat slid the bracelet up over his hand, and Rattle was sucked into it, transforming it back into a teal Ouroboros with black diamonds. Pat shut his eyes and stood silently for a moment, and walked into Master Fu's shop.

Pat, Nathaniel, Marinette, and Adrien stood outside of a gate at the airport.  
"Thanks for helping with my bags and stuff." Pat said.  
"Hey, it's what friends are for." Adrien said.  
"I'm gonna miss you guys." Pat said, tears pooling behind his eyes, "It's been quite the ride." Marinette hugged Pat, followed by Adrien. Pat then hugged Nathaniel, more tightly than the others, and felt a small poke against his chest. The corner of his mouth turned up, knowing exactly what it meant.  
"Embarquement immédiat PDX" the voice on the loudspeaker said.  
"There's my flight." Pat said, "I guess I should get going." Pat picked up his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Good luck with whatever comes next. Adieu!"  
"Adieu!" the trio said in unison as Pat walked over to the boarding desk and presented his pass. He stepped through the gate, out of their sight.

Marinette and Adrien walked hand in hand out of the tube station, followed by Nathaniel a few feet behind.  
"So, should we just walk the rest of the way to the bakery," Adrien asked, "or should we save time and catch a coleslaw?"  
"Adrien, stop!" Marinette giggled. They walked up to a corner, when suddenly a taxi cab flew through their field of vision, making an ungodly metal crushing sound as it landed out of sight. Everyone on the block ran to the nearest cover, including Marinette and Adrien, who ducked into an alleyway.  
"What's going on?" Marinette said.  
"I don't know," Adrien said, "but it sounds like Paris needs its heroes once again. Plagg, claws out!"  
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said, and the two transformed into Ladybug and Cat Noir together. They ran out into the street, when suddenly they heard a voice.  
"Heard you could use a hand." it said, causing the two to turn and see a hero in a purple suit with a black butterfly on the chest, holding a silver net.


End file.
